Saving Her
by chrystal85
Summary: What if Chris got the chance to get his mothers killer during his stay in the past? Will he make it or will he break? and how will his family deal with the aftermath?Post Hyde School Reunion
1. He did it

**Here´s my first fanfic, so please be kind. Set after Hyde School reunion, so Piper knows about the "Event" and Leo´s still oblivious.**

**Disclaimer:I don´t own Charmed or any of its characters**

chapter one

Chris orbed into the attic. He had done it...but he still couldn´t believe it. He just stood there in the middle of the dark room, unable to move, even if he would have wanted to. He just didn´t have the power ,neither physical nor emotional, to even do so much as lift his head. He just stared at the ground not actually seeing it. There were pictures of the last couple of hours running through his head.

A few days ago one of his underworld contacts had given him information on a demon Chris had been searching for, ever since he came to the past. Of course Ascum, a low level demon with a very high level case of halitosis, had not given him these information on a voluntary basis. But Chris had gone through a hard school by the hands of his brother and knew that if he wanted someone to talk, he could and would make him talk. Chris was fine with that, as long as this someone was a demon or any other kind of evil creature.

Wyatt had never made much, in fact any kind of a difference. If someone didn´t want to cooperate with him, he was a threat. And threats didn´t have names, ages , families or rights to complain. Regardless if it was a witch, a deamon or a human. Wyatt had only once been able to capture his little brother after his turning. Chris was eighteen by that time. He sent a group of upper level deamons after Chris to suprise him with an attack, and unfortunately, they succeeded. The teenager had given them a good fight but he just wasn´t experienced enough in using his powers to fight them off. Wyatt used some very painful methods to get his brother to stop his working with the resistance and join him but chris was too strong or maybe just too stubborn to give in even if it would have spared him a lot of torture and heartache. After all he was a Halliwell...he couldn´t help it.

Chris knew exactly that if it wouldn´t have been for the fact that he is wyatts brother, his ordeal would´ve been at least ten times worse. But still, applying some of these methods he could get any demon to speak and cry for his mommy to come and save him, and that actually says a lot.

Ascum, or simply Scummy as Chris likes to call him, let slip some information about a powerful demon, who had just started to form a little group of demon-servants around him. Chris was suddenly all ears and demanded to know more. Scummy told him about the deamons powers and abilities and how he wanted to build up a huge skilled and well trained army over the following ten to twelve years to finally take on the charmed ones. Chris felt like his heart would stop to beat, as he immediately identified this deamon-warlord-to-be as the bastard who killed his mother and aunts when he was just fourteen.

Chris spent the next two days trying to find every little peace of information on that thing that had ever been known by anybody. How many servants he had already gathered, where his lair was, how he could be vanquished...


	2. Getting ready

**Thanks for all the reviews! 7 within the first 24 hours, wouldn´t have expected that. I feel honored.**

**Dear PaigeMatthews06: I´m a student enrolled for British and North American Studies, and sometimes I get a little confused with the spelling differences and end up getting it completely wrong, but hey...That´s the way I am. I´ll try to be more careful about it.**

Getting Ready

The last one turned out to be the hardest one to answer. There was nothing about him in the book of shadows or in any other book about demons. But Chris also knew he could not ask his mother and aunts because he knew they would not let him go on his own, that they would want to help him and that´s what he couldn´t risk. Under any circumstances. They could get hurt or even killed. He wouldn´t risk the life of his aunts and especially not Pipers, his mothers... even thinking about that made every little fiber in his body ache.

No, he had to do this on his own. So he just brew the most powerful vanquishing potion he knew. He had always been a dedicated expert in potion making, even as a child. For some reason a little kick was added to the potion when he made it, so that it became stronger. Like it was some kind of power he had. So his family had allowed him to make at least the potions while he was still not allowed to go on vanquishes with them unless it could not be prevented. So this potion was strong, but chris knew, it would not be enough. He´d have to weaken Scradon, this was the demons name, first in order to kill him.

Chris was aware of the fact that it was risky. That it was actually suicide. How could he try to take on this demon if the charmed ones and the power of three couldn´t...But he just had to hope that the deamon wasn´t as strong yet as he would be in fourteen years. Chris was at P3 getting ready when he remembered the day his life fell apart...

The sisters had been surprised by the attack back then and didn´t have the time to prepare any potions, spells or even plans. They where just overwhelmed and overrun by a huge army of demons, (or that was at least the way it had felt for Chris), who seemed to come out of the blue. Piper had been standing next to her youngest son when it started. She didn´t think, she just reacted when she took Chris hand and pushed him under a nearby couchtable standing in a corner of the room. " Chris! Whatever happens you stay here! You do not move! Not even make a sound, OK?", seeing her sons hesitant look she added, " You can´t help this time, this one is serious. And I can´t concentrate when i have to worry about you, understood?", chris nodded sadly and scared. She smiled at him, " Everything will be fine, I promise!" _The only promise she ever failed to keep..._

Chris shook himself, trying to get the memories out of his head. He didn´t have time for this. He had more important things to do, even if he was scared as hell. But he was also aware of the fact that he actually didn´t have any other choice.

Wyatt might have been turned as a baby, but he actually was a normal child. The brothers had had a wonderful relationship. Wyatt always protected Chris and Chris had simply adored Wyatt. For example when Chris had a nightmare, he would go to Wyatt, who would hold him close calm him down and take his fears away. But when Piper died Wyatt changed. It was like he cracked and whatever had happened to him as a baby suddenly started to affect him.He left his family or what was left of it, started working with demons, developed his theories about power and good and evil not existing, and slowly started to become the evil monster Chris had grown to hate.

He needed a safety net, in case he would not be able to prevent Wyatts turning or die before he could. Those memories of the good Wyatt, those feelings he kept somewhere deep in his heart, were what kept him going. They saved him from drowning in this ocean of pain and sorrow he was in ever since he was fourteen. An ocean wich seemed to grow every day he saw his mother and aunts, knowing what would happen to them...

**More of a filler chapter, I know. But there will be some nice family bonding in the next. In the meantime...reviewing is always a relaxing pastime.**


	3. Family time

**Thanks a lot for the reviews, I appreciate them very much. I made this chapter a little longer. Hope you like it...**

Chris got ready to go to his mothers house, his home actually, to have dinner with them. He just wanted to spend one perfectly normal evening with his family, one happy night to remind him, why he was doing all this. One night to remember if he wouldn´t make it back.

But he also knew, that he had to be careful. If they felt that something was wrong, if they got suspicious, all work and preparation could be for nothing. They would not let him go and Piper would question him until he told her what he was up to.

So he orbed over to the manors living room. Piper heard the familiar sound of orbing and called from the kitchen, " Chris? Is that you?"

Chris walked to the kitchen and answered, " Hi mom. Can I help you with something?" He couldn´t stop this sorrowful feeling from tying a knot into his guts when he said the word mum. He still couldn´t believe how fast his mother had changed from "I´ll-fry-you-if-you-hurt-my-little-baby-boy-wyatt-and-now-get-the-hell-out-of-my-house"- Piper into "I-love-you-peanut-and-I´m-very-proud-of-you"- mum. She hadn´t really said those words yet, but sometimes chris could see them in Pipers eyes.

"Well you could start off by giving your mum over here a hug! It´s like I haven´t seen you in days. Is something wrong sweety?" Chris smiled and went over to piper giving her a long and warm hug. While he let go of her he answered , "No, everything is just peachy. I´ve just been a little busy lately trying to find a ..."

"...new lead on who´s going to turn Wyatt?", Piper interrupted him with a scolding look.

Chris looked at her sheepishly and then to the floor, " Yeah, something like that..."

"Chris...", she said with emphasis locking her gaze with his," You can´t go on like this forever! You are going to get yourself sick sooner or later. Who´s gonna protect Wyatt then? Hmm? You need to rest and relax once in a while. When was the last time you slept a night through?", Piper tried to reason with her son.

Chris sighed, "I know you´re worried mum, but you don´t need to be. I´ve been on my own now for a while and trust me, I know how far I can go..."

Piper frowned at that comment and had to ask, "What do you meen you were on your own ? What about..." Chris stopped her talking and frowned himself, looking a little distressed. He looked to the floor knowing that he had to change the direction this conversation was heading to, to stop her from finding out. He took a deep breath and interrupted her,"Mom please, not tonight.You were right, I need to rest and relax, and I want to do this tonight. I just want to sit and eat with my family , you know, have a few hours of not thinking about the rest of the world and what would happen to them if I fail. I just need you, Phoebe and Paige to give them to me. And I need to see Wyatt happy and giggling when I tickle him and smiling when you kiss him on the cheak. You know, those little things that keep me from giving up the hope that I can save him, that it´s not too late and that that is actually his true nature, the innocent, happy, good child and not the mercyless, cruel killer...". That was when Chris voice broke. He couldn´t go on speaking. He just looked into Pipers eyes hoping that she understood what he meant.

And she did. She knew from her own experience that family and love where the strongest power recources there where. So if that was what her son needed, than she was the last one to refuse this request. She knew that it was a big thing for Chris to admit that he needed them, that he needed anyone or anything at all. So Piper decided to follow her motherly instincts and not dig any further. Especially when she saw how tired and desperate her son looked at her and the emotions that were rushing through his eyes. She had to stop her eyes from watering up so she changed the subject.

"Fine. But I´m afraid I´ll have to dissappoint you. Your brother has been quite grumpy today, and when he was not, you were quite active, thinking turning somersaults in my belly and punching in mummys stomach would be an awful lot of fun, so that I had to lay down. Phoebe had a deadline about the column coming up and Paige was at her temp job all day. So basically no one had time to buy the ingredients for the super duper meal that I wanted to cook, so...", Piper spoke faster and faster and chris thought it would be better for the baby, so basically himself, if she took a breath once in a while so he interrupted her and cought her shoulders.

"Mum, mum, mum...Hey relax...It´s no big deal. Listen, why don´t you go to the living room and sit down on the couch for a while, while I fix us something to eat, ok?", Piper nodded, suddenly feeling a little exhausted, and they started to move towards the living room.

Chris watched as she sat down on the couch and put a pillow behind her back to make her comfortable. "Are Paige and Phoebe at home yet? ". Piper nodded and smiled at her son for his loving gestures. "They are upstairs taking showers and changing.", she answered. "Ok, why don´t you tell them to set up the table when they come down and then sit here a little with you, while I´ll be in the kitchen.". When she nodded again Chris kissed his mother on the forehead and headed out of the room to prepare dinner.

Piper looked at her son as he walked away from her. Sometimes she still couldn´t believe it...her SON...This little baby inside of her and the young man that she had just talked to, they were one and the same. She remembered his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes that were so much like his fathers. Only on very rare occasions Piper could see glimpses of what he´s been through in them. Glimpses of lonelyness, desperation, dedication, unconditional love, but most of all unbearable pain. It broke her heart that her Future-self had obviously not been able to keep him safe, to spare him all that suffering. She just wished he would finally open up and tell her when exactly "the EVENT" was going to happen, and how she could stop it. And Piper just really wished she could´ve seen him growing up so that she would understand him better. A slight kick in her stomach sent a little thought to her head and a smile on her lips...She would see him grow up. She would!...

Phoebe and Paige chose that moment to enter the living room. Phoebe saw the smile on her sisters face and sat down next to her while Paige made herself comfortable on the opposite couch. Phoebe looked at Piper and asked, "Hey, what´s all the smiling about?"

"Oh nothing, really. Just the thought of the most wonderful baby growing inside me.", Piper answered proudly with a voice that indicated that it ment everything but nothing for her. Paige understood the deeper meaning, "Ah, I see. Where is he at all? Wasn´t he supposed to be here for dinner?"

"Oh, he is here. Chris is in the kitchen cooking something for us. You know, I had a little emotional breakdown after he came because non of us had the time to buy the stuff I needed. I wanted it to be something special but Wyatt had one of his grumpy days and the pregnancy starts taking its toll on my nerves and then my little angel comes around and nothing is prepared ... gosh I gotta calm down. I´m freaking out again!", Piper took a deep breath and continued, "Chris brought me here and told me he would take care of everything. And here I am."

Phoebe smiled at her, " And that´s where you are gonna stay. Paige and I will see if we can help Chris with anything."

" No that won´t be necessary. He just askes you to set up the table for us. But before you go, I´d like to talk to you for a sec..." Paige understood the seriousness in Pipers voice, stood up and made her way around the couch table to the other side of her eldest sister. "What is it honey? Is something wrong?"

Piper took a deep breath, "Well, I´d like to ask you not to talk about anything future related tonight. No questions about future husbands, children, anything. Unless he brings it up himself. He´s obviously been on another demon hunt and I can see that he is tired. I went a little motherly on him, but he just said that he had been on his own for quite a while,and you know me, I had to ask... He practically begged me not to talk about this tonight. Chris admitted that he needs a break and that he wants it tonight. That all he needs is some time with his family where he doesn´t need to think about everything he´s been through and everything that still lies ahead of him. And he´s right, whenever I didn´t know how to go on I allways knew that I would , as long as my family was behind me. You guys give me strength to belive that every battle we fight is worth it.That everything I or somebody I love has to sacrifice on the way will be worth it in the end. And lets face it, Chris has made the biggest sacrifice any Halliwell has ever made. He left everything he ever loved, he ever fought for behind, not knowing if he would be able to return and enjoy the future he buildt with his own blood and suffering. So if what my baby wants is a simple night with his family...", Pipers voice broke and her eyes had watered up, so Phoebe continued for her, " ...Than that´s what he´s gonna get. I promise." Paige nodded and the three of them shared a group hug with tears in their eyes.

After a few minutes Piper pulled back and wiped the tears away. With a grin on her face she said, " So, stop it now. The last thing Chris needs now is three hormon struck women who start to cry whenever he opens his mouth." They all chuckled a little on this comment and Paige stood up. "Alright, alright. Phoebe and I will do the table now, and you just relax a little longer. This chick flick stuff can´t be good for the baby, especially when Chris hates it so much. They shared another grin and Phoebe and Paige went to the dining room.


	4. Keeping your innocence

**Next part is up.Hope you like it as much as the last ones...**

**Disclaimer: I still don´t own charmed**

Keeping your innocence

Not much later Chris came to the living room and asked, "Are you ready?" Piper nodded, "Yes honey, table is set and we are staving."

"Good, then please somebody get Wyatt, go to the dining room and take a seat. I will be there in two minutes.", and with that he left the room.

The girls did as instructed and two minutes later the sat around the table with Wyatt in his high chair when Chris entered with a huge bowl in his hands.

"Well, it´s really nothing special, but I did the best I could with what you had in the house. It´s just some spagetti and tomato sauce." He put it down on the table with an apologetic look. But Piper smiled at him, " Don´t worry baby. I love everything you cook.". Everybody got something on his plate and Phoebe was the first to try. Suddenly she looked at him across the table and went, "Oh god Chris, what is in there? That is amazing... " Than Paige spoke, " Yeah, that is easily the best pasta I like...ever had..." And Piper said, " All the different flavours and herbs mix so perfectly, Oh you gotta give me that recipe!..." Chris smiled at that," I´m sorry mum but I can´t. You won´t develop the recipe till i´m like six, I think. And all the other things you made in the process...No way that I will risk that. That could change the world in such a horrible way!" , he said as if this was the worst possible scenario. They all loughed exept Piper who looked at him in "Careful mister" stile but then also broke in laughter.

"Well, the basic recipe is yours, you thought me when I was like twelve. And over the years I added my own little twists to it." They carried on eating and chatting. When they were finished Chris stood up to clean the plates and asked, "Who wants desert?" Phoebe and Paige immediately threw their arms up and screamed "I do,I do,I do,I do,I do..", while Piper looked at Chris dazzled, "You made desert?" He smiled and nodded and went to the kitchen. He returned with a trey with four little bowls on saucers. They had little chocklate cakes in them. Chris went around the table and handed them to the girls."You gotta be careful, they are quite hot.". Phoebe was astonished, "Not only can you cook, you can bake as well? You truly are Pipers son. If I had doubts before, they´d be gone with the wind by now!"

By the time they finished eating the girls were stuffed and felt like exploding. They thanked Chris for the delicious meal and Phoebe and Paige went to the kitchen to do the cleaning. Piper went to Wyatt to take him to bed when Chris asked, "Mum...?", She turned around to him, "What is it honey?" A little hesitant Chris looked at the floor and then at her eyes, "Do you mind if I do that?" For a second Piper was taken aback because she hadn´t expected that. But then she remembered her sons words from their conversation in the kitchen earlier and spoke softly, " No, of course not. You just go and take your brother to bed and I will rest a little on the couch. Because right now I feel like I was pregnant with twins!"

With a genuine smile on his lips Chris turned to the high chair to take Wyatt out and rested him on his hip. "Hey little brother, time to go to bed. Are you tired yet, hu? No? Sorry, but you unfortunately have no say in this. Come on, give mommy a good night kiss. Here you go..." Piper gave Wyatt a kiss on the cheek, "Good night baby, I love you. Sweet dreams.", and Chris left the room heading for the stairs.

In the bedroom he gently changed Wyatt into his pyjamas and put him in his bed. Then he covered his "baby" brother with his favorite blanket, the one with the triquetra symbol and looked into his eyes."Hey Wyatt, you´re a big boy now, right? So you can keep a secret. You know, I´m not going home tonight. I will go and try to save mum, so that she won´t have to leave us later. So don´t worry, everything is going to be ok. But I need you to promise me that you are going to take care of mum and the aunts in case I can´t make it back and that you are going to stay good. For me? Because I love you oh so very much. Oh, and little me. He´s just going to adore you. He´ll look up to you and do everything you say. So be good to him, because he´ll need you, always. Just like me. He´ll be lost without you, and feel like a part of him is missing when you´re not there. So we got a deal? Just in case? I promise I´ll do my best to be back in the morning when you wake up. I love you so much..."

A single tear rolled down his face. Chris looked down at his brother and gently stroked with his fingers from the boys´ forehead to the tip of his nose. He remembered how Wyatt always did this to him when he couldn´t sleep and a smile crept across his face. Baby-Wyatt closed his eyes and not long after he was sound asleep. Chris wispered, "Keep your innosence Wy, good night. See you tomorrow morning." And with that Chris kissed his forehead and left the room.

The rest of the night the Halliwells spent laughing and talking in the living room sitting or lying on the couches. They just enjoyed being together. Without pressure, without thinking about what the future might hold for them. But the later it got the more aware Chris became that his day wasn´t finished yet. That he had to go soon. And it was killing him...

When it was time, he turned to the girls and said "Well, I think it´s time for me to leave. I´m a little tired you need to rest too, cause you all had it rough today. There is still a lot to do...", _and my time is running out_, "... and I need you to be on full force when the time comes. So I´d say we call it a day and get some sleep."

And with that he stood up, it felt like the hardest thing he ever had to do. It took all his strength, but he wouldn´t let them see it, couldn´t let them know.

Piper looked like she was in deep thought , then took a deep breath and sighed, "Sometimes I don´t know who deserves the title _mom_ more in this family, him or me...?"

Chris roled his eyes at that and then threw her an "That-was-oh-so-not-funny"-look, which soon changed into an "But-I-forgive-vou"-smile as he held a hand out in her direction.

Piper returned the smile and accepted his hand to help her up. Phoebe and Paige got up too and they all moved towards the stairs. When they got there they shared their good nights and Piper climbed the first steps as Chris looked at her. He knew that this was it. He had to leave now. He suddenly found it hard to breathe and felt his heart starting to hurt as it pressed the blood into his veins._ Stop it. Don´t get emotional now or you´ll never be able to leave_, he chastised himself. _Keep yourself together and just leave before you start to cry. Not now! There will be time for being weak later, but not now! _With that he took a last look at Piper and started to orb out.

Suddenly Piper felt an inner urge to do something. She knew she had forgotten something, but could´t quite say what . Then she realised what it was and cried out, "Chris, wait!"

He instantly stopped orbing and rematerialized on the same spot he had stood seconds ago. Chris looked at Piper as she made her way back down the stairs and over to him. He was shocked when she threw her armes around him and pulled him close like she never wanted to let go of him again. At first he didn´t know what to do, but then he couldn´t hold back anymore. He gave in to his inner longing and hugged her back.

"I love you baby and I´m so very proud of you."

Phoebe and Paige who were standing behind Piper saw the tears that shot into Chris eyes. At this heartbreaking sight they felt their own eyes watering up. Suddenly Phoebe had to grab Paiges hand to steady herself as a wave of some of the strongest emotions she ever felt rushed over her. Paige looked at her concerned, "Phoebe, are you ok?" But Phoebe silenced her lifting her hand and Paige followed her gaze back to Chris and Piper and then she understood what was wrong with Phoebe.

The two where still standing there, hugging each other. Then Chris whispered barely audible, "I love you, too." That was all he could say, before he moved even closer and hid his face in her hair, pressing it against her neck.

They remained that way, till a few seconds later Chris orbed out of his mothers arms. The now alone Piper turned around and faced her sisters with tears in her eyes. At the look of her sister she frowned and asked concerned."Phoebe, are you ok?"

"Oh god Piper, I think his emotions just overrun the empath blocking potion he took...I got a read of him, or better was bombarded with his feelings...anyway, Piper there was so much hurt and pain, sorrow...but at the same time...there...there was hope...growing inside of him...but the strongest that I felt, was...Piper it was...love. There was so much love...most of it bottled up and suddenly breaking free...and there was happyness...relief...like you saying that you love him and that you are proud of him was something he´s been waiting, longing to hear for so long...I think by saying that you just made him the happiest person he´s been in years...in many years."

The girls smiled at each other, till Paige spoke up, " Come on. Let´s go to bed. There is nothing we can do tonight. So let´s get some sleep. I know you are confused and upset. But Chris needs us to be fit and Piper all this stress is certainly not good for the baby. Do you want him to get even more restless than the current adult version?"

Piper chuckled and shook her head no. "See, that´s why we will all go upstairs now. Agreed?" , "Agreed.", came from both Phoebe and Piper and they all made their way upstairs.

Meanwhile, Chris had orbed to the bridge. It was cold, windy and it rained a little. He pulled his jacked closer aroung him after wiping his tears away with his sleeves. He waited until his emotions had settled down, packed all the stuff he had stored on the bridge for the vanquish into his pockets, took one last deep breath of the cold air to clear his mind and then orbed out. Ready to go on the vanquish of his life...


	5. last resort

**Hey, thanks again people for all those wonderful reviews. Its always like christmas and birthday together when I get one!**

**Anyway, no I still don´t own charmed or any of its characters. **

**And now, enjoy my new chapter. It was really hard to get this one done...but I think it was worth it.**

Last Resort

Chris orbed straight into the demons layer. Scradon and two of his minions were standing in front of a stone table with a lot of paper scattered on it. They had their backs towards Chris who observed them with a dark, baneful look on his face. His Eyes showed pure hatred.

Chris had immediately recognized this demon as the one that killed his mother. Back then he had only managed to get a small glimpse of him, but that was enough. His body size, the clothes, the green - blueish skin colour combined with the rather human looking but pretty muscular physique...

That was definitely the bastard that brought his mother to an early grave. That ripped his whole life apart. That was responsible for his aunts death because of him the power of three was broken. Chris felt like killing the demon the moment he saw him. But he knew he had to stay calm. He had to stick to that little bit of a plan he had.

Suddenly Scradon lifted his head and sniffled with his eyes closed, because he had detected a strange scent. "Whightlighter...", he frowned and then a malicious smile crept across his face. "...and Charmed blood."

He turned around and saw Chris, a very pissed off Chris, with his arms crossed before his chest. Scradon just laughed at him, "What do you want little whitelighter? Do you want to orb me to death? Or probably heal my troubled mind and lead me back to the path of good? Well ... sorry to disappoint you little boy, cause A : I can shimmer myself and B: I have never been good. So get your little pacifist ass OUT OF MY CAVE!"

With the way he screamed the last bit even his minions took a step back. But Chris didn´t even flinch. He just shook his head and spoke in a mocking voice, "ts, ts, ts...a little agitated today, aren´t we? You know, I don´t intend to leave just yet, so why don´t you relax a little, have a drink, commit suicide ... something along that line. "

Scradon was getting angry about Chris behaviour, so he barked, " Careful, little whightlighter. I might get the impression that you are threatening me!"

But Chris just smiled at that, "See, some people say I´m full of surprises, so ...surprise!" And with that he flung an arm in Scradons direction and tked the demon straight into the wall behind him. When he made it back to his feet he resumed his former position next to his minions.

He looked a little irritated, "A whightlighter with wiccan powers and charmed blood? Tell me right now, who are you? "

Chris wasn´t very impressed, "Well sorry, but thats none of your business. But if you gotta know, I´m the one that´s gonna vanquish you."

Scradon just laughed. This dammed whightlighter had wiccan powers. So what? So that stupid, rebellious and obviously suicidal kid would have to learn it the hard way. " If you want me, you´ll have to go through them first!"

Then he waved a hand and immediately ten more demons shimmered in between Chris and Scradon.

But Chris wasn´t stupid. He had expected that Scradon would sent his minions first so he was prepared. He had investigated which kind of demons he´d have to face. Most of them where lower level and a simple vanquishing potion would be enough. But a few other demons would be a little harder to kill.

When the first two approached him Chris started telekineticaly choking one and threw the athame he brought straight at the heart of the other. The demon burst into flames and Chris tked the athame back into his hand. Only a few seconds later the other was vanquished, too.

Scradon got angry at how easy Chris managed to kill them and sent all his demons at him at once.

One of them shimmered behind Chris and grabed him while anoher demon atacked him from the front. The whightlighter managed to kick him hard in the chest and throw the other over his shoulders, so that both ended up sprawled on the floor. He had just managed to throw a potion at one when he had to dodge a fireball while tking another into the wall.

Another demon shimmered behind him and produced a fireball while one in front of him did the same. So just the moment Chris had managed to stand up, he threw himself back to the floor. The two demons had already released their fireballs and ended up vanquishing each other.

Chris quickly got back to his feet when another demon aproached him, this time with a sword. He tked the sword out of the hand of the demon right into the back of one standing a few feet away. He choked the former owner of the sword till he exploded.

Then the stabbed demon turned around and laughed at Chris, saying "You can´t kill me like that looser!" But the young man just smiled back." I know. But this combined with that...", nodding in the direction of a potion he held in his hand, "...will certainly do it, don´t you think?" And with that he hurled it at him, smashing it where the sword came out of his chest causing the demon to burts up in flames.

It took Chris another ten minutes to more or less easily finish off the other demons. When he was done he just wanted to turn towards Scradon when a wave of energy pushed him of his feet and threw him towards a wall and pinned him there, his feet dangling above the floor. Suddenly he felt an aweful burning sensation in his chest, like it was on fire.

The pain made it a little difficult to follow Scradons words as he spoke up, " Whats wrong, little wightlighter? Not so confident anymore? I think I´ll have to teach you a little lesson on how to RESPECT ME! You know, You´ve just made yourself the perfect guinea pig for an experiment that I wanted to do anyway."

He went to a table and picked a potion vial out of a box. While moving back towards Chris he explained," I´m very proud of this little thing here. It prevents you from any visible injuries. You may ask yourself why I wouldn´t want to see you bleeding and all but you know, I just don´t want to destroy your little angelic face so that everyone can see how easy killing you was, once your dead body hangs outside my cave for everyone to see! It will teach them not to mess with me!"

With that he threw the potion to the floor underneeth Chris. The explosion produced yellow smoke, which he couldn´t avoid to breath in, because the burning in his chest had left him panting. Chris body glowed yellow for a few seconds and when it finished he was released and crashed on the floor.

He quickly pulled himself back to his feet. But Scradon didn´t give him much time to get his emotions back in control when he threw a fireball at Chris which hit him hard in the chest. He could feel how some of his ribs had cracked but when he looked down he saw no wound and no blood.

Scradon was obviously happy with the result but didn´t have much time to smile as Chris sent him flying into the wall behind him. And then the battle started. There where constantly fireballs flying through the cave only interrupted when Chris used his telekinesis. He had managed to throw a few potions at Scradon which had weakend him a little but Chris knew it wasn´t enough yet. The demon had hit him quite badly in the chest and abdomen and he probably had internal bleedings but he had to supress the pain for now, there would be time to hurt later. All those years of fighting against his brother had trained him how to do that.

Nevertheless, Chris could feel that his energy was fading and it came to the point where there was only one last thing to do. He had hoped it wouldn´t come so far. It was kind of a last resort power he had to use now, but this was kind of a last resort situation. And he had to do it now before he would become too weak.

So he tked the deamon to the floor one last time and got into position. Chris closed his eyes and concentrated on all the anger that was inside him bottled up and released it. It built up to the point, where he almost couldn´t take it anymore and transformed it into one huge wave of power.

Chris only had done it once so far when he had to defend a group of infant witches against some of Wyatts demons. He had wiped out all twenty of them within a few seconds. He probably would have died that day if Bianca hadn´t found them and brought them back to the resistance because Chris was too weak to orb.

Scradon was back on his feet when the wave hit him. It felt like a thousand fists were punching him hard while someone pinched his head with a hundred needles. It didn´t take long untill he was down on his knees screaming.

Chris felt it was time and he hurled a final vial with the vanquishing potion at Scradon who immediately burst up in flames.

And then it was over.

But Chris didn´t feel happy or relieved. He didn´t feel anything exept a vast numbness and exhaustion even twentyfour hours of sleep couldn´t heal.

With the last ounce of power he orbed to the attic of the manor. There he stood for a while, darkness surrounding him, unable to process what had just happened. Images of the last couple of hours rushing through his head while he stared at the floor unmoving.

And then sudddenly all hell broke loose...


	6. Giving in

**Hey guys. I´m so happy that I managed to get another chapter done before I have to go to university again tomorrow. I hope that I will still be able to update at least once a weak and I promise I will do my best.**

**Thanks to all the people who reviewed again. Love y´all...**

**God, this chappy was a huge piece of work again. But I made it in the end and I hope you´ll like it. PUHLEEZE tell me if you do!!!!**

**And before I forget, no I still don´t own charmed or any of its characters...**

**So on with the story!**

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Giving in

Chris just couldn´t hold it back anymore. All the emotions, the pain, the sorrow, the loneliness, the frustration, hopelessness, the despair...

Everything he didn´t want to feel... Everything he had forced back into a prison of emotionlessness somewhere deep in his heart... Everything he had bottled up over the years starting the day his mother was so brutally ripped out of his life was now fighting its´ way back to the surface.

He just couldn´t contain it anylonger. He didn´t have the power, the strength to lock it away once more.

And now it hit him full force, breaking down all the saefty walls he had struggeled to keep up in the last months. And it ripped him apart from the inside...

It just all got too much. He always had to be strong... Always had to keep it together for what was left of his family... Allways had to keep going, ignoring his own needs to keep them save...

Peace by peace he had sacrificed his own life, his own soul, never resting, never complaining, to protect them, failing miseably as one by one they were all ripped away from him.

First his mother, then Wyatt, his aunts, his grandfather, his cousins, Bianca and now...

Now he was all alone.

He was fighting for something ... never knowing if he would actually succeed. He had to spend his days around his family. They gave him a reason not to give up but also forced him to remember everyday how much loosing them had hurt . And sometimes this made giving up so much more attractive...

All that hit him at once and the burden literally got too heavy so that his legs gave in and he dropped down to his knees. Chris slung his arms around his chest somehow trying to ease the the pain which became so unbearable that it was hard to breathe.

On every normal day breaking down like that would have driven his powers over the edge because they were tied to his emotions and he probably would have caused the whole house to blow up. But there was nothing left.

He bent forward to rest his head on the cold attic floor and gave in to the overwhealming need to let it all out. And so he sat there crouched on the floor and cried and screamed silently...

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Piper jerked up from an uneasy sleep.

Something was wrong. Every cell in her body practically screamed at her that something was utterly wrong.

Even though she couldn´t quite decipher where this feeling came from and what exactly the problem was she knew it had something to do with Chris. Her hand instinctively went to her rounded belly to make sure the baby was ok. It was a little active for this time of the night but she hadn´t slept very well so that probably wasn´t too remarkable. Besides Piper didn´t feel any pain, cramps or anything of that nature so she was pretty sure the baby was ok. But that would mean...

Then her head jerked up, her eyes somehow fixed to the ceiling.

"Chris!" she gasped as the strange feeling suddenly grew more urgent.

Piper quickly got out of the bed and put on her bathrobe on the way to the door. She went out into the corridor and headed to the stairs as she felt somehow drawn to the attic.

When she arrived there she slowly opened the door and looked inside. But she couldn´t quite see anything in the dark room. Suddenly frightened she switched on the light which blinded her for a few seconds. Piper had to put a hand in front of her eyes to shield them but when the pain was gone she removed it.

After blinking a few times she took a look into the room. She gasped and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Chris kneeling on the floor shaking and sobbing helplessly. She could see pure agony on his face and more alarmingly in his eyes.

"Oh my god, Chris!"

She made her way over to him as fast as she could and got down besides him. She started rubbing his back slowly trying to calm him down.

"Hey Chris! What happened? What´s wrong?" But Chris didn´t seem to react.

So Piper tried it again, this time more urgently, " Chris, Come on! What happened? Tell me what´s wrong so I can help you. Are you hurt? Do you need healing?"

She seemed to get through to him when he turned his head a little in her direction and asked her almost whispering, "Mum?"

Pipers heart almost broke at that moment. "Yes baby, it´s me. It´s mommy. I´m here. Everything is going to be ok. But you´ve got to tell me what happened so I can help you. Chris please!"

But instead of answering he changed his position so that he could, now laying on his side, put his head in his mothers lap. He was still hugging his chest and was now in some kind of foetal position as he closed his eyes. Piper had started caressing his hair and face trying to give her son some much needed comfort.

She had never seen him like that. He was always so strong and always thinking he had to protect them. At any cost. Only lately had he been able to show more affection, since he had spoken to his grandfather. But never could she have imagined him in such a state. So completely broken...

Then he spoke, his voice frail, "I vanquished him"

Piper frowned in confusion. " Who did you vanquish, baby?"

"The deamon that killed you..." Another tear rolled down his face.

Piper felt like she´d just been slapped in the face. "Oh my god, Chris! You did what?... Are you ok? Are you hurt? Do you want me to call your father?" Normally Piper avoided calling Leo for help because she didn´t want him to find out about the pregnancy but non of this mattered right now. If Chris was hurt she´d call him instantly. She could deal with the consequences later.

But Chris shook his head. "Can we just stay here a little? Like this? I´m tired mom. Please don´t go away..."

Piper looked down at him worried. Normally she would have gone in mother hen mode and made sure he was really ok. But she couldn´t see any bruises or injuries and he seemed so desperate and emotionally exhausted that she gave in. "Ok sweety. But just a little and then we´ll get you to my bed so you can sleep. We can talk about everything later. You´ve got a lot of explaing to do. Just rest a little now."

In any other case she would have pushed him to talk about it now, but she knew he would´t let himself go like that if they were in any imminent danger. So she allowed him to rest right now trying to give him as much comfort as she could while her mind was spinning around what might have happened to her son.

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Paige woke up and didn´t really know why. She was anxious about something, but what? She hadn´t slept very well anyway so she decided to trust her instincts which had only rarely failed her so far and have a look around the house.

Paige left her room and made her way down the corridor. When she came past Wyatts room she opened the door to have a quick look inside just to be on the safe side. Paige knew that Piper had the babyphone in her bedroom and that her sister probably would have called her if something was wrong, but you never know. That feling had to come from somewhere...

She was a little surprised when she switched on the light and was met with two baby blue and very awake eyes because Wyatt was sitting upright in his bed reaching up to her with his arms. So she picked him up and rested him on her left hip.

"Hey what´s up little man? Can´t sleep either? Seems to be a common desease these days..."

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_Piper and Chris had been up in the attic fo a while now. He had calmed down in his mothers arms resting his head on her lap and seemed to be asleep._

_After a few more minutes Piper decided it would be time to wake him up now and get him into a decent bed where he could sleep properly. So she slightly rubbed his back._

"_Chris? Come on baby. Wake up, it´s time to go to my bedroom now."_

_But he didn´t react._

"_Chris! I know you are tired but I also know you are cold, because you are shivering and my bed will be so much more comfortable to sleep in... You don´t need to worry. I´m not going to leave you. I´ll stay with you all night sleeping right by your side."_

_When he still didn´t react she got worried. She took a closer look at him and got scared when she registered that his breathing was a lot more shallow than it should have been. She started shaking him._

"_Chris! Chris come on. It´s time to wake up now... Oh god Chris! ...Chris!!!"_

_She started panicking now. She got her legs out from underneeth him and gently put his head on the floor. Then she moved around to his side and slowly rolled him onto his back. Piper leaned over her son, resting her body on her right hand and caressed Chris face with the left, calling his name again._

_But there was still no reaction. Suddenly she found it hard to breathe, fear cursing through her entire body. Piper started gently slapping Chris´ face to get him to wake up._

_This finally seemed to have an effect on him because he abruptly opened his eyes and looked around the room unfocused. Piper grabed his hand and held it close to her heart._

"_Chris? Oh thank god, you´re awake...Chris please tell me what is wrong! Are you in pain? Does it hurt somewhere?"_

_But again he didn´t answer her question. He just looked at her his his eyes finally finding hers and whispered, "Mum, I love you... Please take care... of Wyatt ...for me..."_

_His breathing had grown more laboured while he tried to speak, and then suddenly..._

_...it stopped. His whole body went limp and his head fell to the side releasing one last tear from his eyes._

_At first Piper couldn´t understand what had just happened. But when she finally registered that her son had died she started crying, "Chris! No, that´s not possible. It is not possible. You can´t be... LEO!!!! LEO!!!!"_

_Piper started hitting Chris chest with her fists to wake him up, but when nothing happened she collapsed on his upper body sobbing. What Piper couldn´t see was that Chris´ t-shirt had rode up a few centimetres now revealing a little bit of his stomach. She also couldn´t see the dark bruises that were all over it._

_With the last bit of power she got up again and screamed, "LEO!!!!!!!!!"_

Suddenly Phoebe sat up in her bed, panting and sweating as if she just would have run a marathon.

She instantly knew that what she had just seen wasn´t just a bad dream. It was a premonition and she felt that she didn´t have much time before it would become reality. She jumped out of bed and started running in her pyjamas out of the room in the direction of the attic...

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Paige just wanted to leave Wyatts bedroom when she heard Phoebe scream "LEO!!!!", and saw her running past the room. "Phoebe what..." But she didn´t have time to finish that question as her sister was already running up the stairs.

Paige knew that something horrible must have happened so she figured leaving Wyatt alone now wouldn´t be the best decision. She picked the toddler up again and followed her sister.

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Piper and Chris had been up in the attic fo a while now. He had calmed down in his mothers arms resting his head on her lap and seemed to be asleep.

After a few more minutes Piper decided it would be time to wake him up now and get him into a decent bed where he could sleep properly. So she slightly rubbed his back.

She just wanted to speak to him when suddenly Phoebe came running into the room and kneeled down next to Chris. She put her arms around his shoulders and carefully rolled him onto his back. Then she turned to the ceiling and screamed again "LEO!!!... LEO!!!... For heavens sake get down here right now!!!!!"

Phoebe turned back to Chris and tried to wake him up by touching his pale face and calling his name repeatedly. "Chris?... Chris! Can you hear me?...Chris!!"

But Chris didn´t move and Phoebe knew that he was already unconscious. Piper was confused and alarmed by her sisters actions at the same time. She wanted to ask her what was wrong with her son when Phoebe bent down to Chris waist and pulled his t-shirt up.

The moment Piper saw all the dark bruises spread across Chris´ stomach and chest she knew that he was in serious danger. That his life was in danger. Phoebe and Piper looked at each other for a second, panic showing in both their eyes before theiy both started desperately calling for Leo again.

Paige chose that exact moment to enter the attic. When she saw Chris on the floor and her sisters by his side screaming and shouting for Leo to come she knew that Chris must be seriously injured. Then she saw his stomach and chest and instinctivly pulled Wyatt closer and held his head by her shoulder so that he wouldn´t have to see the scene laid out in front of them.

She started panicking like her sisters and joined them in their attempt to get Leo down to earth to help Chris.

They were all crying by now.

"LEO!!!!!!!!!!"

**I´m so mean, I know. But the more you review the more encouraged and inspired I will be to update...muahahahahahahaha...**


	7. It´s Chris!

**I´m very proud of this chapter because I didn´t really know what would happen and I kind of just let it flow. And I think the result is satisfying. Please tell me if you think the same.**

**By the way,we broke the review record with the last chapter! Thanks a lot to all of you!**

It´s Chris!

After a few more seconds which felt more like eternity blue orbs finally started to appear in the attic. They formed into Leo who looked slightly worried.

"Piper, what´s wrong? Why aren´t you calling for...Oh god Chris!", he said when he finally registered Chris lying on the floor badly injured and the emotional state the sisters where in.

Phoebe frantically yelled at him, "Cut the crap Leo and get over here! We don´t have much time left!"

Leo instantly did as he was told and Phoebe made some space for him by Chris side. He held his hands over Chris´ bruised body and started healing. After a moment he looked at a distraught Piper.

"God Piper what happened to him? Who did this?"

But she didn´t answer. She couldn´t concentrate on anything else but her son right now. Not until she knew he was fine.

Another few moments later Leo was finished healing and said frowning, "That´s all I can do."

Piper finally reacted as she pushed some hair out of Chris still way too pale face. "Shouldn´t he wake up?...Why doesn´t he wake up?...Leo, you gotta heal him a little more, this can´t be it yet...Why the hell isn´t he waking up?"

Leo quickly put a hand on her shoulder to stop her little panic attack before it got out of control. He didn´t understand her suddenly exaggerated concern for her wightlighter but he was worried about the young man himself. He and Chris had come to some kind of truce before he left off to elderland. He still didn´t completely trust Chris but he was sure that he would never deliberately hurt the sisters or Wyatt. And Leo for sure never wanted to see him suffer.

"Calm down Piper. I took are of all his injuries. He´s fine now..."

"But then why is he still unconscious? I mean look at him! Does he look fine to you? Cause to me he certainly doesn´t...", Phoebe interrupted him. Piper nodded wanting to ask the same question.

"Look, it´s hard to explain..."

"Try!", Paige snapped still standing a few feet away with Wyatt in her arms, her fear slowly making way for anger.

Leo took a deep breath trying to find the right words. "Chris is physically ok. He had quite a few serious internal bleedings and his ribs were either fractured or even smashed. But I healed all that, that´s not the problem... But he... How can I put that...He´s exhausted. More than you can imagine. Whatever he did, he completely burned himself out! I mean, I´ve never seen anyone so worn out... The only thing I _can_ tell you at this point is that he is going to be ok. I just don´t know how long it´s going to take until he fully recovers. "

Piper herself was probably as far from being fine as her son but she was at least relieved that Chris was out of imminent danger. She knew that she´d been fairly close to loosing him. And that was not an option.

Why didn´t he say anything when she found him? Why did he have to go after this demon alone? Why didn´t he ask for their help?

But Piper knew this was useless. She wouldn´t get any answers now. The only thing she could do was making Chris as comfortable as possible and taking care of him until he feels better. That was the only thing that mattered right now. So she turned her gaze away from her sick son to the other people in the room.

"Ok, sitting here doesn´t bring us anywhere. Leo will you please orb us to my room so we can put him into my bed. And Phoebe and Paige, can you please put Wyatt back to sleep? It´s way too late for him to be awake."

They all nodded in response and Leo took Pipers hand while putting the other on Chris´ shoulder. When he orbed out Phoebe got to her feet. She took a last look at the floor where her nephew had almost died and then turned and followed her younger sister out of the attic.

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Leo orbed them straight to his ex-wifes, even though he deeply regretted that fact, bedroom. Piper got up from the floor and pulled the sheets back so that Leo could carry Chris to her bed. After he put him down she took his shoes off and gently covered him with the comforter.

Piper than sat besides Chris and caressed his forehead trying to feel his temperature. Chris seemed to respond to her touch and moaned slightly before he opened his eyes.

They were a little glassy as he looked around trying to find something familiar in the only dimly lit room. His vision was blurry so that he didn´d recognize his mother until she whispered his name.

"Chris?"

"Mum?"

Leo was leaning against the door frame a few feet away. He could´n understand what they were saying but found the way they were looking at each other a little awkward.

"Yes sweetie, it´s me, mommy. Don´t worry, you´re safe now. I´ll take care of you.", Piper told her son reassuringly.

"Where am I?", Chris croaked out confused. He couldn´t think straight due to his current state of health.

"You are in my bed. We brought you down here from the attic because you need to rest and sleep a little...Chris? You´ve gotta tell me what happened to you. Where have you been tonight and who did this?", Piper asked him.

"You don´t need to worry about it anymore. I took care of Scradon.", Chris replied.

Replaying their conversation in the attic Piper asked, "The demon that killed me in the future?"

At first he was irritated by her question but then he remembered that he had already given it away and simply nodded yes feeling too weak to speak.

Piper saw that and decided to let him sleep now. "Listen sweetie, I´m gonna go talk to your aunts and father now." She stopped as she felt him tense when she mentioned Leo and took his hand.

"Chris you were hurt, I had to call him! Besides, I can´t keep it a secret forever. He is you father, he deserves to know... And you know I think he´d be a little confused when he sees us together, me fussing all over you and you being totally annoyed about it...", she said with a smile before getting serious again.

"Listen. I´ll talk to them real quick and be back here with you as soon as I can, ok?"

She already wanted to leave but there was one more question lingering in her head and she couldn´t resist asking it.

"Chris, when I found you...why didn´t you tell me that you were hurt..." She looked at his hand in hers and took a deep breath before she continued, "... you know you... you could have died." Her voice was full of emotion.

Chris closed his eyes and for a second it looked like he wouldn´t answer but then he said already half asleep, " It just felt so good...just being there with you...in your arms...I didn´t feel the pain anymore...and all I wanted, all I needed ...was being with you...I missed you so much..."

Piper felt tears up well in her eyes as her heart broke. She bent down to kiss his forehead and whispered, " It´s ok sweetie. Just sleep now. We can talk later. I love you...", but he was already lost in a deep, dreamless sleep.

Piper wiped the tears out of her eyes and stood up. Leo had watched them all the time and was still too occupied with the incidents of the night to notice Pipers state.

But when she turned around his eyes fell on her rounded belly and the truth hit him with a sledge hammer. "You...You..You´re..."

Piper noticed his stammering and saw that Leo stared shocked at her stomach. She quickly said, "Not here!", and pushed him out of the room and into the corridor.

"You´re pregnant?" Leo asked her still shell shocked.

"No I think I just ate too much and gained a little weight around the waist...", she replied rather casually shrugging her shoulders but then barked, "Of course I´m pregnant!"

Phoebe and Paige chose that moment to come out of Wyatts´ bedroom but quickly realized what was happening between the soon-to-be-again parents and stood back silently.

"Who...?...What...?...Where...?...Who´s the father?", Leo asked completely helpless and utterly confused.

Piper looked at him with a You can´t honestly be asking me that question face, "Who do you think the father is?". She meant that as a rhetorical question and thought that Leo should actually get what she was trying to say.

Piper also thought that Leo should know the whole truth and decided to tell him about Chris.

"Listen Leo,...the baby...it´s Chris!"

She knew that he probably wouldn´t be jumping in the air and hum happy songs for the rest of the day but there was no way she was prepared for the reaction he actually gave her.

"Chris is the father ?", he croaked out looking like he´d faint any second.

Pipers jaw dropped and she could´t believe what her husband...ex-husband...whatever...had just said. Her sisters faces mirrored hers.

The next second a book came flying out of Pipers bedroom and hit Leos´head before it fell to the floor with a thud. _(Yes M.J.L.S., this one was just for you!)_

Phoebe and Paige instantly broke into laughter while Leo rubbed the aching spot on his head. Piper looked in Chris direction. But when she saw that he was still asleep she shifted her gaze down on her belly.

"Was that you?". As if wanting to confirm her suspicion the baby kicked her into her kidney at that moment. "Naughty baby! You can´t hit daddy with books. That´s not very nice!", she scolded playfully.

Phoebe and Paige were holding their stomachs by now and Phoebe said, "But you gotta admit that he totally deserved it !" and started laughing again.

Leo didn´t seem to understand a word they said so Piper decided to end his misery. "Leo, Chris is not the father!"

"But you said..."

"No, I din´t. Oh for heavens sake... Chris **IS** the baby!...I´m pregnant with Chris!...He is our child Leo, our second son, YOUR SON!"

She had wanted to break it to him gently, but her patience was wearing off. "We don´t have time for that now! My baby is in there suffering and he can´t even tell me why exactly!", she said exasperated pointing with her hand towards the room.

Phoebe and Paige were serious again and Paige tried to calm her sister down. "Piper come on, flipping out is not good for the baby. What did Chris actually say? How did you find him at all?"

Piper ran a hand though her hair before she answered, "I woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly felt that something was wrong with Chris. At first I thought it was the baby but I didn´t feel any pain or other weird things. Then I felt drawn to the attic so I went there. When... When I got there he was kneeling on the floor crying, sobbing and there...there was pure agony in his eyes!...I asked him what had happened and if he was injured but he just kept crying. Eventually he said that he had vanquished my killer and that he wanted to stay there with me for a while. He was tired so I said yes...Oh god I should have called Leo immediately! But I didn´t see any injuries..."

"Hey,hey...", Phoebe interrupted her,"...don´t blame this on yourself. I saw it in my premonition, he looked fine...Wait a minute! Your killer?"

Piper nodded, "Yeah, apparently I got killed in his future. That was the EVENT! The reason why he didn´t want to get too close to me. He was afraid that it would hurt too much. He told dad when I "sentenced" them to spent time together."

Phoebe gasped, "Oh my god Piper, I´m so sorry! Why didn´t you say something?"

"I didn´t want to worry you. Besides he wouldn´t to tell me when or how it happened so there isn´t much we can do... Anyway... Phoebe, you had a premonition?"

"Yes I did. In my sleep actually. I saw you up there with him trying to wake him up, but he was unconscious. Then he eventually did wake up to tell you that he loved you and to take care of Wyatt and then he... he... he died. I´m so sorry Piper.", she said when she saw a tear slide down her sisters face. "Then I saw the bruises on his stomach before the premonition ended. I got up and started calling for Leo while I ran to the attic where I found you. "

"I didn´t know I was that close to loosing him...", Piper gasped still close to tears.

Than Paige turned towards her Elder-brother-in-law who had listened to their conversation while the truth started to sink in. "By the way, Leo. What exactly took you that long to come down here? We called you for at least two minutes!". She expected a REAL good explanation.

He sighed, "I was just coming out of a meeting. They must have put you on mute because I only heard you two or three times before I immediately orbed down here."

Paige was shocked,"They did what?"

"Did you expect anything else?", Piper barked but realized that she had been too harsh. "I´m sorry, it´s just... a lot for one night"

Paige sent her an understanding look. Piper continued," Ok, I think Chris said the demons´ name was something like Scradon. Can you please go ´up there´and see if you can get any information on him? But please be careful that they don´t cut the telephone cable again."

"Ok, but if anything happens , call me. "

Piper nodded reassuringly and he orbed out. "And I think we should go back to bed. Chris is fine for now and I´ll stay with him tonight. But we´ll have to be strong for him in the next few days so we need our sleep."

Phoebe and Paige went to hug their sister and Paige said, "He´s gonna be fine. We´ll make sure of that." And then Phoebe added, "Yeah and remember we are here for you so just call us if anything happens or if you should need us. We love you!..."

Piper whispered , "Thanks! I love you,too.",and then they all left for their respective bedrooms.

Piper got down next to her son on the bed and grabbed his hand while she watched his sleep. He was still lying on his back his head turned towards her. He was pale and he was frowning which made his face look tense but other than that he seemed to be fine. Piper kissed his knuckles and hoped that everything would be fine soon, but little did she know what was still lying ahead of her.

**Just a minor cliffy this time. But don´t be fooled. There is still a looot to come so pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaase keep up with reviewing. As I said it inspires me and makes me work harder and a loooooot faster.**


	8. Understanding and accepting

**Hi people, it´s me again. And I came with a new chappy in my suitcase, all new and still hot. Fresh out of the press. Hope you enjoy it as much as the last ones.**

**Chapter 8, not bad for something that was originally planned as a one-shot, right?**

**LostWitch5 : See how well it works? Spent half my precious weekend writing cause I was so inspired. Thanks!**

**M.J.L.S. : You are soooo welcome!**

**xXx MissHaunted xXx: Thanks a lot for the compliments and yes I did get what you were trying to say, even though I´m not sure what that says about my mind, hu? So where´s my cookie? **

**And to all you lovely reviewer-people out there, you are the ones that keep me working , so thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks a looooooooooooooot to all of you!**

**And here my latest masterpiece!**

**Just kidding ... or maybe not. (uncontrollable giggle)**

**Understanding and accepting**

About an hour later Leo returned from up there´. He orbed straight into Pipers´ bedroom where he found her and Chris asleep.

Chris...

The whitelighter from the future which he so often had disliked, insulted, mistrusted and for crying out loud on so many occasions even threatened...

He was his son... his child... a child which evolved from his and Pipers´ love... a child he was supposed to protect from harm... a child he was supposed to create a home for, where it could feel safe and warm... a child he was supposed to love unconditionally!

The child Piper was carrying.

Even though Chris had done everything to keep this fact a secret, shouldn´t he have known? Shouldn´t he have sensed it? Shouldn´t he have felt his sons pain when his own family had kicked him out of his own house? The house which he´d grown up in?

So many times he had doubted Chris´ motives. Where everything Chris had ever intended to do was actually saving his family. Was keeping Wyatt save... And Leo was aware that he himself would do almost anything when the people he loved were in danger, especially his son. Regardless of morals or consequences.

And Leo had no idea how bad the world Chris came from really was. He had indicated it on a few occasions, but he never really spoke about it which was one of the reasons for the doubts about Wyatts´ turning to never really disappear. Until now... He just couldn´t imagine the innocent toddler he knew to become the cruel, merciless and power-hungry source of all evil. A killer.

But that´s what he was in the future. And Chris had to watch it. Probably had to see him change bit by bit over the years, or maybe it was one event that triggered it and it Chris world had fallen apart in one day. Or maybe it was something in between. Leo didn´t know. And he couldn´t care about this right know. First he had to make sure Chris was fine, then they´d work on finding the thing that would get to Wyatt together as what they were supposed to be... a family.

Leo was actually able to get a little information on the demon Chris had vanquished but it was nothing urgent so he decided to let Piper sleep. After all she was pregnant and had had enough stress for an entire month within a single night. She needed to rest.

So he moved towards the bed and got down on the floor next to Chris. He took his hand into his own and simply watched his sons chest slowly but consistently rise and sink.

He found it amazing how fast he had forgotten all prejudices and the grudge he held against Chris and fully accepted him as his son. Now Leo only wanted to protect him and keep him safe from any harm.

Chris now was his son... his child... his responsibility.

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A few hours later the light started flooding the room, giving it a golden glow. Phoebe and Paige were already up and currently busied themselves with getting dressed.

When Piper woke up she felt relaxed and happy. A smile crept across her face as she put her left had on her rounded belly and started caressing it. Then she realized that her right hand was holding someone else´s and all of a sudden all the events of the past night started rushing back into her mind.

She got scared but when she opened her eyes and found Chris still lying next to her in the same position as hours before she calmed down. When she checked on his breathing and his temperature and found it to be normal she leaned back into the cushions and resumed admiring her beautiful son while caressing his hand with her thumb.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Leo by Chris´other side sitting on the floor with his head resting on the bed and his eyes closed. She saw that he was holding Chris´ other hand. Piper smiled widely knowing that this could only mean that Leo got over the shock and finally accepted Chris as his son.

But that smile was quickly wiped of her face when Chris suddenly, out of the blue, jerked up into a sitting position. While doing so he drew in a sharp breath as if he would have been under water for too long and had finally reached the surface. He seemed completely panicked.

"Leo!", Piper screamed seeing that Chris now started hyperventilating and couldn´t get it under control.

But she didn´t need to wake Leo. The tight and almost painful squeeze of Chris hand had done the job. He looked at Piper with a worried expression as he quickly got up and sat down next to Chris on the bed. Phoebe and Paige, alerted by Pipers scream, came running into the room. They were shocked by their nephews condition but left it to Leo to try and calm Chris down.

Leo grabbed Chris head gently with both hands, forcing his son to look at him with his tear-filled green eyes. He spoke to him soothingly.

"Hey, hey, hey...Chris look at me. You gotta calm down buddy, ok?... You´ve got to breath... Come on, lets do it together... Just follow my lead ok?...In... and out... and again in... and out... in ... and out. That´s it Chris, you got it. In... and out..."

Leo saw that Chris breathing got less rigid and less labored. It started to even out and his son seemed to relax. He took Chris by the shoulders and pulled him against his chest, resting the boy´s head against his shoulder.

Tears now freely ran down Chris face and he started sobbing uncontrollably. Leo, who felt his body shaking started rocking him back and forth.

"Hey buddy, it´s all right. Everything is fine. You are safe... Mommy and Daddy are here and your aunts too. We´re all here and we won´t go away. I promise you that... You are not alone and we all love you...Just let go, let it all out..."

When Piper saw her son´s haunted eyes she finally snapped out of her trance. He looked so tortured, lost and completely broken that it tore her heart apart. She moved towards him and caressed his head while she murmured comforting words into her sobbing son´s ears.

Still standing near the door Phoebe and Paige had been watching and holding each others hands for a while, when suddenly Phoebe tumbled backwards trying to find her balance or something to hold onto. Paige saw that and knowing her sister she also knew the cause. She quickly moved besides Phoebe and led her out of the room.

On the bed Chris had calmed down and was slowly falling back to sleep completely exhausted by the seizure he´d just had. Leo and Piper helped him down to the pillow and tucked him back into the bed where he passed out almost immediately. Then they got up and moved over to the door so that they could speak without interrupting his sleep.

"Listen Leo, I´ll go downstairs for a minute. I gotta call my father."

"Why him?"

"I called him a while ago to spend some time with Chris and find out why he was avoiding me. They bonded quite well and dad found out and told me that apparently I died in Chris future. I know he knows more but just like our son he wouldn´t tell me. But now he´ll have to."

Leo nodded, " Ok, you go call your dad and I´ll stay here with Chris.

Piper nodded and threw a worried look towards her son. Leo put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don´t worry. I won´t let anything happen to him."

Piper looked into his eyes and said, "I know Leo, I know. I... I´m just scared."

She closed her eyes to control the fear rushing though her her body and sighed deeply. She got herself together and changed the topic.

"Maybe we should get him some more comfortable clothes. I´ll get Paige to orb to P3 and see if he´s got something there. I reckon he´d rather wear that than your way too big ones."

They exchanged one last understanding look and then Piper reluctantly left the room. Leo moved back to Chris and got back to his place on the floor. Chris had pulled his legs close to his body and was now in a fetal position facing his father.

Leo started caressing his pale face and pushed some hair out of his face. Suddenly alarmed he felt that Chris forehead was a lot warmer than it should be. He hoped that it was just a leftover from the seizure and that Chris wasn´t developing a fever. It could be fatal in his current state of health...

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When Piper entered the living room she found Phoebe sitting on the couch and Paige standing next to her handing her a glass of water. When she came closer she saw that Phoebe was a little pale and had to hold on to her glass with both hands which were shaking that much that she would have spilled the water otherwise.

"Are you ok? What happened?", Piper asked her younger sister.

Paige, seeing that Phoebe was too upset, answered for her. "She´s still a little shaky. She got a read off of Chris when we were up in his room and it almost knocked her out. I had to get to get her all the way down here for it to subside."

"Ok, ahm Paige... could you please orb over to P3 and see if Chris has got any comfortable clothes there? You know, like pyjamas or something. He´s still wearing his jeans and his t-shirt is a little dirty. And could you then please orb Wyatt to magic school´s daycare? There´s too much tension in this house than can be good for him. He likes it there and Chris needs my full attention right now. He obviously had to do without it for far too long. I´ll take care of Phoebe."

"Yes sure. I´ll orb straight back to Leo and help him with it. Than I´ll give Wyatt a kiss from you." , she replied while she squeezed Piper´s arm reassuringly.

"Thank you Paige.", she said to the already disappearing blue-white orbs. Then she turned to her other sister and sat down next to her. She took her hand in hers.

"Phoebe, what did you feel?"

Phoebe finally had herself back in control but nevertheless struggled to put all into words.

"Oh god Piper, I don´t know where to start... There was so much... There was pain, loads of it... It seemed like killing this demon triggered something inside him that ripped away every emotional wall he ever built and struggled so hard to keep up. Every bit of hurt, disappointment, fear, betrayal, despair and so on he´s ever bottled up has broken free and is simply burying him underneath, and it´s ripping him apart..."

Seeing what effect her words had on her sister Phoebe forced herself to calm down and stop rambling.

"He´s not only physically but also emotionally exhausted. He´s avoided dealing with everything for far too long and now it starts taking it´s toll. What happened last night was simply the last straw. This and his physical exhaustion probably caused a complete mental breakdown. But we´re here to help him through it. But he´ll have to learn dealing with his feelings otherwise it´ll only get worse every time he fails to keep his guards up."

Piper had tears in her eyes and couln´t believe how much her little boy had to suffer. How much the little baby version of him inside her would have to go through if they could´t prevent Wyatts turning.

"Worse than this?... No... No this is not going to happen. I won´t allow it.", With that she got up reaching for the phone on the couch table. Piper started pacing back and forth while dialing numbers.

Phoebe frowned at her sister. "Who are you calling?"

"Dad. I know he knows more about my death but he won´t tell me cause Chris asked him not to. But now I wont die, at least not by the hands of this demons so he can tell me everything."

Phoebe nodded and Piper put the phone to her ear.

"Dad? It´s me, Piper."

"Oh hi honey. Nice of you to call. How are you? "

"I´m fine dad and the baby´s too. But Chris is not."

Victor heard the tension in his daughters voice and instantly started to worry. "What is it? What´s wrong with him?"

Piper explained everything that had happened the night before and this morning.

"Oh my god! How is he now? Do you want me to come over? Leo or Paige could orb me..."

"No dad. He´s asleep anyway. For now I only need you to tell me everything Chris said about, you know, the event for us to be able to help him. But when he´s better you should come because I´m sure he´ll have a few things he´ll need to get of his chest. And obviously it´s easier for my son to talk to his grandfather then to his mother." Piper couldn´t avoid sounding a bit bitter at that.

"Hey Piper, don´t be like that. He has a reason for it... Listen, I want you to stay calm when I tell you that. It´s not good for baby – Chris if you freak out... The only other thing Chris told me about the future is his age when it happened."

"How old was he?" Phoebe who only heard her sisters part of the conversation got all ears at the question as it could answer a lot of questions.

"Oh my god... Yes thank you... Don´t worry I know how secretive he is about the future... Yes I´ll call you as soon as he´s ready to see you... Ok, I´ll call you regularly... Yes bye dad, I love you too."

"What did he say?", Phoebe asked her sister who absentmindedly lowered the phone.

"He... He said... the only other thing Chris said was ... that he was fourteen when it happened."

"Oh my god Piper!"

Piper started sobbing. "I know Phoebe. I left my children at the most vulnerable age. If Chris was fourteen than Wyatt was sixteen. A time where they needed their mothers guidance most to find their way from childhood to adulthood, to find their place in life. They were too young to deal with it properly but too old to ever really be able to forget it. We know what loosing a parent is like. Imagine being fourteen!... No wonder he started bottling everything up..."

Phoebe got up and slung her arms around her older sister. "Piper calm down! Non of this is your fault! You didn´t _choose_ to leave them. That bloody demon ripped you out of their lives! And Chris already avenged and prevented that. It will not happen anymore, do you here me? We will not let anything happen to any of us!"

Piper still sniffled but had calmed down. "You are right. We won´t. And I won´t do Chris a favor if I hurt baby-him because my emotions are not in check."

"That´s right. And not eating won´t help him either. So why don´t we go to the kitchen and prepare something for breakfast."

That sent a suspicious smile across Pipers face and she wiped her tears away before she replied, "You just don´t want to do it yourself!"

But Phoebe put an innocent look on," I don´t know what you mean", and led her sister out of the room.

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About twenty minutes later Piper left the kitchen with a plate filled with a sandwich on it and made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. When she entered she found a freshly dressed Chris in her bed still sleeping, Leo sitting beside him and Paige with her hand resting on her brother in law´s shoulder.

"Hey, you two. How is he?"

Paige and Leo turned around and Leo answered. "Good so far, but I´m afraid his emotional outburst this morning has caused him to develop a fever."

"Can´t you heal it?", Piper asked him worried.

"Unfortunately not. It´s rather stress – induced and that´s something I can´t heal. Trust me, if I could...", he said with guilt evident in his voice.

"Hey Leo, I know you would do anything to help him. This is not your fault. It´s non of ours. It´s happened to him already, probably a long time ago... ", _when he was 14 and I left him, to be precise, _she thought, "... and the only thing we can do now is be there for him and show him that we love him.

Why don´t you two join Phoebe in the kitchen and update each other about what we all found out, because I´m not sure I can say it again. I´ve prepared some sandwiches for you and those...", indicating at the plate in her hand, " ... are for Chris when he wakes up."

When Piper saw Leo´s reluctance to leave she added softly, "Go Leo. You need to eat something to stay strong, for Chris and Wyatt. And for this family. No matter what you´re still a part of it and always will be and we all need each other right know. Baby - Chris is due in a few months and Big - Chris let it slip a few days ago that whatever turned Wyatt happened before he was born, so we are running out of time here. We can´t risk anyone else of us to break down."

Paige smiled at him reassuringly and grabbed Leos elbow. "Come on, let´s go. You look like you could need a good cup of coffee and one of Pipers veerrryyy nutritious sandwiches. Not very much longer and you´ll look like your actual age! And we all don´t want that to happen, now do we...", she said leading Leo out of the room and created a little but honest smile on his lips.

She nodded over her shoulder at Piper before they disappeared into the corridor towards the stairs.

Piper took Leo´s former place by Chris side and looked at her sleeping son. A few minutes later he started stirring and slowly opened his eyes. Piper bent down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. She jerked a little when she felt his warm skin and that he was really developing something.

She asked, "Hey baby, how are you?"

He just smiled weakly at her as an answer probably still too weak to speak. But then he croaked out, "How did he react?"

Even though he didn´t say it Piper knew he was talking about Leo and how he took the news about Chris being his son.

"Well, he was shocked a little at first. But now he´s over it and loves you just as much as I do. He actually spent the whole night by your side and just left too minutes ago to grab a bite.", When she remembered Leo´s first reaction she couldn´t help grinning.

"What´s so funny about that?"

"Oh, you know, there was a tiny misunderstanding and for a minute Leo was a little slow off the mark and thought you were your own father. Mini- you was obviously as disgusted as your aunts and I and threw a book at him."

Chris wanted to say something but the pure image of his father´s face at that moment made him chuckle. When he immediately winced Piper cupped his face with her hand.

"Chris? What´s wrong? Does it hurt anywhere?"

She felt like in a deja – vu and really hoped that he would answer this time. What she didn´t expect was the frail and vulnerable voice of a child which he answered with.

"Mom, my back hurts. Can you do something, please?"

Piper got even more worried but tried not to show it when she spoke soothingly, "Sure baby, just turn over on your stomach and I will have a look at it."

Piper frowned when she saw how much pain and effort it took him to slowly do as she asked him to. Then she pulled up the back of his shirt and almost got a heart attack when she found the same dark bruises on his back that she saw on his chest yesterday. The bruises that had almost caused his death.

Chris didn´t even flinch when Piper yelled for his father. He was too out of it again.

"LEO !"

**By the way, my "Keep reviewing and I keep writing" policy is still kind of on so you know what that means... Review, review and please don´t forget to review! Puhleaze?**


	9. You came!

**Hey, Hi and Hello to all of you. I know the last week was a little slow on the update front, but hey! It wasn´t my fault!**

**University is really busy these days and yesterday my really annoying lan connection had to crash. Can you imagine how boooooooored I was last night?**

**Anyway, I´m rambling. Hope you like my new chapter and hey, if not... don´t tell me. I might actually cry, and you don´t wanna see that, do you? Trust me,... you don´t.**

**But if you like it please tell me so in a sweet little review. I might still cry and you still won´t wanna see it but at least you´ll know that you made a miserable and still rambling person happy!**

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**You came!**

Leo immediately orbed into the room, quickly followed by Paige who brought Phoebe along. He knew by the way Piper had yelled that something must be wrong with Chris. After what happened last night and this morning he just knew what that sounds like. Leo went to the other side of the bed and found it hard to breath when he saw why she was so upset. His son´s back.

"Oh god. Piper, what happened? Where do those bruises come from?"

He crawled over the bed to Chris and started healing him while Piper stammered, "I ... I don´t know, Leo. He woke up and we talked ... not even _two_ minutes. He suddenly seemed to be in pain and when I asked him why he told me his back was hurting. And _that´s _what I found when I looked at it. Didn´t you see it when you changed his t-shirt?"

When Chris´ skin was looking normal and Leo felt that the new injuries were healed , he turned him back on his back, explaining , "No, he was perfectly fine, I checked if there were any hidden injuries left, but there was nothing!"

Before Leo could say anything else Chris stirred, drawing all the attention back to him. Piper leaned down to Chris and started caressing his face. She saw that his eyelids were fluttering but he couldn´t find the strength to open them.

Chris felt like he was buried underneath a ton of very heavy and surprisingly very hot sand. He kept digging and digging, trying to get out but every time he managed to shove some of it away it caved back in on him.

He didn´t know where he was. He didn´t know what had happened after he threw the potion at the demon and saw it explode. In fact, Chris didn´t even know how long ago that _actually_ was! He couldn´t see anything, it was_ so_ dark around him. And silent. A threatening silence.

Then suddenly a voice broke through to him. His mothers voice. But it seemed so far away that he had to put all his concentration together to understand what she was saying.

"Chris?... Christopher? ... Come on sweetie, open your eyes ... Could you do that for me please? ... I know it´s hard but ... "

Piper felt a huge relief when he slowly opened his eyes. Chris´ vision was a blur but he could make out his mothers face in front of him. He felt hot and tired but he wanted to stay awake for her.

Piper smiled at him "Hey, how are you feeling? Are you ok?"

Chris nodded. Actually he felt numb all over and was far away from "being ok" but his mum didn´t need to know that. Now that he could actually see her, his mind became a little clearer and he remembered that he had talked to her, more than once, since he orbed back home.

"Do you want anything? Are you hungry?" Piper asked.

But Chris shook his head this time and whispered "Water"

Piper was happy that she could actually do something for him. She turned around. "Paige, could you..."

Paige smiled "I´m on my way!", and orbed out down to the kitchen to get a glass and some water. Meanwhile Phoebe walked over to the bed where Chris was lying.

"Come on, oh dearest nephew of mine, I´ll help you." She put her arms underneath Chris´ body and lifted him so that he was sitting up. Then she sat down behind him and leaned his back against her chest.

Chris really liked that and sighed relaxed, resting his head against her shoulder.

Paige returned and handed the glass to Chris who took it with shaking hands and drowned it hungrily. When he was finished Paige asked him if he wanted more He nodded and she refilled the glass with the bottle she had brought from the kitchen. Chris emptied it just as quickly and handed it back to his aunt who put it next to the bottle on the nightstand.

Piper sighed and looked at her son , "Chris, I know you are tired but we need to talk about what happened. You think you are up for it?"

"Even if I wasn´t you wouldn´t let me of the hook, would you? So just start the interrogation." he said with a grin on his lips which told Piper that he at least had not lost his sarcasm.

"Where have you been last night?

Chris knew that they wouldn´t stop until he told them every little detail so he just started at the beginning. He had changed that event so he didn´t have to be afraid of future consequences anymore. He could actually talk about it, and DAMNED that felt good!

"I went after a demon. Scradon. A couple of days ago one of my contacts told me some rumors about him and I recognized him as the one who is responsible for..." Chris looked down at his hands, sorrow visible in his face.

"What kind of rumors?" Piper asked trying to get her son´s mind away from her death and back to the subject at hand. Leo saw that Chris still had trouble speaking and continued for him.

"He is said to be gathering other demons to train them for some future mission. But the elders were not able to find out what it was. They said last night that Scradon could have turned into a serious thread as he is high-level with some serious powers."

Paige frowned "So that mission was..."

"... The demise of the Charmed Ones. Yes." Chris who had regained his voice finished the sentence.

"I just had to stop him. No matter the consequences."

The way he said it made Phoebe dread the answer to her next question.

"Chris, when you went down there, you didn´t know if you would make it back, right? Was that the reason why you´ve been acting so different last night?" It was actually more of a statement than a question.

Nevertheless it made Piper shiver. She was afraid of what Chris might say and her biggest fears were confirmed when he whispered "Yes"

"It wasn´t a complete suicide mission though. I had a very powerful vanquishing potion. I knew I´d probably have to go through a few of his minions first and I was prepared. They weren´t the problem. In this time his so-called army mainly consists of low level demons. Over the years he trained some of them others were replaced by more powerful ones."

"Chris, exactly how many are a few?" Paige asked suspicious

"Ehhhhhhm... ten, maybe twelve?" Chris answered sheepishly knowing that Piper would tear him into shreds any second now, and his expectations were not disappointed.

"CHRISTOPHER PERRY HALLIWELL!!! Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND??? "

"Mum, mum, mum, ... calm down. It only took me about twelve minutes. It wasn´t such a bad deal." He tried to calm his mother down.

But Piper had non of it, " Chris still, you can´t go after that many demons alone..."

"Mum, I´ve done more in less time when I was 19."

All that was left for Piper to say in this particular moment was "Oh" and the other people in the room didn´t look much better.

But Chris brought them back to reality. "Anyway, the minions weren´t the problem. Scradon himself on the other hand was a different story. I made the strongest potion I know, and it´s a hell of a potion, trust me on this one, but I still had to weaken him first."

"How did you do that?" Leo asked him worried.

"Telekinetic energy blast"

Leo was shocked, "WHAT? You can do that?" and Chris just nodded. He had been up quite a while now and started to get tired which didn´t go unnoticed by Leo.

Piper asked "What is a telekinetic energy blast?"

Leo turned to the sisters and explained, " It´s basically a very concentrated attack with his telekinesis. He just builds the magic up inside till he can´t contain it anymore and releases it all at once."

"Wow" said Phoebe and Paige at the same time while Piper just looked stunned.

"It´s nothing special. Wyatt can do it too. Whenever he wants actually. When I do it, I end up like this, physically and magically completely drained. He doesn´t even so much as sweat."

Paige chuckled "Aaw, do I see a little inferiority complex shining through?"

Having hit a sore spot she only got a sarcastic smile as an answer which transmitted a few words which Piper would have scolded him for. It didn´t last long though because he sighed exhausted and leaned further into Phoebe who tightened her arms around him and cuddled him closer.

Leo saw that Chris needed to go back to sleep and asked him one last question. "Chris, when you came here you were seriously injured, but only internal. Not even a scratch on the outside. And just a few minutes ago you suddenly had more injuries which seemed to come out of nothing! Any clue where they came from?"

Chris frowned and closed his eyes, apparently in deep thought and seemed to have an idea when he opened them again.

"The potion."

Piper was instantly worried. "What potion?"

"Scradon ... He hit me with a potion before we started fighting... Said it was supposed to... prevent any visible injuries so that I´d look like an easy kill once he had me hanging as the main attraction outside his cave... Was still in experimentation phase though, so it might be a side affect..."

His slow speaking and closed eyes showed everyone in the room that it was time for Chris to rest so Piper ended the conversation.

"Ok baby, enough talking for now. Just go back to sleep. Is there anything you want, more water or something to eat?" but he just shook his head.

When Phoebe wanted to get up and lower him down he grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Aunt Phoebe, can we stay like this a little? You used to do this when I was a kid and sick. It always made me feel save and relaxed. Can you stay a little longer? Just till I´m asleep? Please. "

He sounded so lost and frail that Phoebe kissed his forehead and said, "Of course sweetie. I won´t go away. Just sleep now. We´ll be here when you wake up."

The girls had tears in their eyes and Leo swallowed hard, imagining how bad Chris must feel if he actually asked for this . Asked for comfort and love. Something he normally never would have done.

So they just sat there. Phoebe gently caressing his hair and rocking him into sleep, his parents each holding one of his hands and Paige with her hand on Piper´s shoulder.

After about fifteen minutes Phoebe gently got up and Leo helped her lowering Chris exhausted but at least sleeping body down into the pillows and Piper and Paige gently covered him with the comforter. Piper pressed one more gentle kiss on to his temples and switched the baby phone on the nightstand on.

Then, with one last look to their son and nephew they left the room.

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Afraid that they might wake him up this time, the Halliwell family moved downstairs into the kitchen. Silently they sat down around the kitchen counter except for Piper who busied herself with making some fresh coffee. They were all lost in their own thoughts about what Chris had just revealed.

When Piper finished preparing the machine she pushed the button and put both her palms down on the cold but soft wood of the cupboard. Her vision started to blur and the first drops silently fell between her hands. When Leo looked over to his wife he saw that her shoulders started shaking and that she raised one hand to cover her eyes.

He got up and moved behind her. The moment he slung his arms around her Piper started sobbing heartbreakingly not able to hold back any longer and pressed her body back into her husbands chest trying to find comfort.

Leo just held her for a while, then turned her around and pulled her close again. Piper rested her forehead against his neck and continued crying.

Phoebe and Paige looked at each other worried but were overcome with emotions themselves. Leo started murmuring comforting words into Pipers ear.

"Shhhh,... everything is going to be fine..."

But Piper just exploded. "NOTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE!!!" she yelled and pushed him away. She continued ranting "My son is lying up there in my bed, suffering for things that are NOT HIS FAULT!

My little baby boy is carrying the weight of the whole goddamned world and its whole goddamned future on his shoulders even though it SHOULDN´T BE HIS RESPONSIBILITY! He lost his mother when he was fourteen, FOURTEEN Leo! I left him alone with a brother that turned into the evil overlord of the entire planet!

And what does he do? He travels through freakin´ time trying to save his brother, his whole family and pays with THE LIFE OF HIS FIANCÉ for it. He comes here and meets his dead mother alive and happy and she treats him like a peace of shit! But he just goes on and on never complaining, never resting, never giving up until his body gives up and he has a complete breakdown!!! What did he do to deserve this?"

And then she turned her head to the ceiling and yelled again "WHAT DID HE DO TO DESERVE THIS?"

But then Piper stopped ranting and squeezed her eyes shut suddenly feeling very light-headed. Leo saw her swaying dangerously and caught her before she could fall. Phoebe and Paige were at her side in an instant and Paige orbed a dining room chair next to her sister for her to sit on.

After Leo helped her sit down he said soothingly "I know this makes you angry, I feel the same way, but remember being upset is not good for the baby. Time travel is complicated Piper, we don´t know if the baby´s condition might even affect Chris."

Piper was back to sobbing. "I know Leo, but this is just so unfair. He´s so weak, he couldn´t even sit without help. And his temperature is rising, I´ve felt it when I kissed him. I just don´t know what to do..."

"Right now you´ll let Phoebe and Paige take you to the living room and you´ll rest a little. I can´t have you breaking down. You are still pregnant and need to take your time outs. You have two versions of him to take care of and they both need you. And in the meantime Paige, Phoebe and I will look after Chris. He´ll be fine. I´m sure Wyatt misses his mommy too. Paige could get him for a while to spend some time with you, what do you think?"

Piper knew that he was right and nodded. But then the baby phone went off and they could hear whimpering sounds that seemed to come from Chris.

Leo turned to Piper and said, "You stay here. I´ll go. He´s probably just dreaming." and orbed out before Piper could protest.

"Come on Piper, let´s go sit on the couch. Paige will go and get Wyatt, ok?"

Paige smiled back at Phoebe and Piper and orbed out to Sheila´s. Then Phoebe helped her sister up and brought her to the couch in the living room. She gave Piper the baby phone who turned the volume up. A second before Paige arrived with Wyatt they heard Leo speak.

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When Leo orbed into the room he found Chris shaking in his bed, turning his head from one side to the other. He had beads of sweat on his forehead and looked pale. Leo checked his temperature with his hand and was shocked that it had gone up so quickly. It was starting to get serious now and he had to calm Chris down.

"Chris! Come on buddy it´s just a dream! Wake up!" he said slightly shaking Chris´ shoulders. He turned towards his fathers voice and opened his eyes.

"Daddy?... What are you doing here? ... I´ve been waiting all day for you to come but it was getting late and mommy sent me to bed. I hoped you would be there to blow my candles out with me this time but you didn´t come. I´m happy that you didn´t send me a letter this time daddy and that are actually here."

Leo knew that Chris was delirious so he decided to go with it. He was confused and hurt by his sons words, he had obviously missed his birthday and not only this one. Then he thought back to the day when Phoebe had turned into a genie. Chris had said to Leo that his father sent him too many letters when he was little. Obviously apology letters because he had missed one or the other event in his sons life. Too many. Leo remembered thinking what a bad father Chris must have had and now he felt horrible realizing that he had been this father.

He felt tears welling up when he answered " I´m sorry that I didn´t come but I´ll make it up to you. Now you have to sleep, because you are sick buddy."

"You don´t need to be sorry daddy. I talked to Wy and he said that you are a very busy man and that you have a lot of people to look after. It´s ok that you want to spend the little time you have with Wy because he needs you more. I know he is a special child, the twice blessed child. I just wished you would come to my birthdays, that´s all I want. I´ll be seven next year and I would be sooo happy if you´d come, ok daddy?"

Leo had tears running down his face and didn´t know what to say. How could he have missed his son´s sixth birthday? How could he play favorites with him and Wyatt? How on earth could he become that person?

Chris suddenly frowned, "Dad, is Wy sick too? Is that why you came?"

But this time Leo reacted quickly, he couldn´t allow his son to feel like he didn´t love him for just a second longer.

"No Chris, Wyatt is ok, he´s downstairs with your mum. That´s not why I´m here. I came for you, to see how you are."

"Can´t you heal me please dad, like you always do?"

"No buddy. I´m sorry. I´ve already tried but it doesn´t work. But I´m sure if you stay in bed and sleep a lot, you´ll be fine real quick."

"Ok daddy." Chris said closing his eyes.

Leo ruffled his hair and pushed some out of his eyes when he said "I love you Chris, I love you so much."

Chris smiled almost asleep and answered "I love you too, dad"

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Leo descended the stairs slowly and lost in thoughts. He went to the living room and let himself fall down on the couch next to Piper. He saw the baby phone on the couch table and realized that the girls must have heard everything.

He looked at Piper. She had Wyatt on her lap who played with a rattle. Her shocked eyes confirmed his suspicion.

"How could that happen? How could I become such a bad father? " he asked fondling Wyatt´s head, raw emotion evident in his voice.

Phoebe who sat with Paige on the opposite couch answered, "We don´t know Leo, but it´s not too late yet. You can still change that."

Leo nodded. "I know, but I just don´t understand how I could ever love one of my children more then the other or at least show it more." He shifted his gaze to Piper´s swollen belly and put one hand to it, gently caressing it. "I still can´t believe that he´s in there. That we are really going to have a second child and that it is going to grow into such a strong, courageous, brave and absolutely wonderful man."

Then he bent down, placed a kiss on Pipers stomach and smiled. "You know little Chris, I can´t wait till you come out of there and I can hold you and hug you and spoil you rotten!"

Piper just wanted to protest about the spoiling thing when the baby kicked into her stomach right were Leo´s hand was. One look into his beaming face told her that he felt it too. It was the first time Leo felt his second son in his mothers womb and it was just as amazing as it was with Wyatt.

Piper said "I guess he wants to say hello to his daddy and that he´s looking forward to meeting you too. Even though we´ll have to talk about that spoiling thing again, young man!"

This sent a smile on everybody´s face and Phoebe proposed "Hey,why don´t you two stay here with Wyatt and play a little together before he has to go back to Sheila´s. Paige and I will go upstairs to Chris. He shouldn´t be alone too long."

Leo and Piper were reluctant not wanting to decide between their sons but saw that this was the best solution. Chris would probably sleep for a while and Wyatt would spend the night at his godmother´s house so they could be with him now and go to Chris later.

Piper turned to her sisters. "Ok, but could one of you please hand me the phone? I promised to call dad regularly."

Phoebe got the phone and gave it to Piper. Then she went upstairs with Paige.

**Chrissy.W.x – don´t worry. I wouldn´t even know how to go on like that for ten chapters. **

**MissHaunted xXx – No I don´t like those "meanie" Leo fics either. It´s ok when he takes his time to understand it but some just overdo it. And I´m just gonna pretend I got my cookie and pretend I say thanks but just because of the "puppy dog eyes"! And I´m really sorry that it took me thaaat long to update this time, but I´m still faster then some others, right? Right? Right? Right? ( Sorry but I´m a sucker for other people telling me I´m right) smile**

**And a big thanks to all the other reviewers too!!!**


	10. Dreams and Memories

**I´m soooooooo sorry for the delay. But I was really busy and then there was my birthday on the 18th and then I couldn´t go online for a whole week!!! I almost died, let me tell you that. **

**But hey, I´m back and I really hope there are some people out there who still like to read my story. I´m not that far away from finishing it but there is still a lot to come. I´m still full of ideas. **

**But anyway. Here comes chapter number ten and I have already a big part of eleven done. So you definitely won´t have to wait that long again.**

**Please tell me in a rev if you still like the story and want me to continue. Don´t tell me if you don´t. You might just break my poor little heart. _Sniff_. **

Chapter 10 : Dreams and Memories

Phoebe and Paige had been in Pipers bedroom with Chris for a while now. He had started tossing and turning in his nightmares a few times but they had always been able to calm him down with a few soothing words and a gentle touch.

In a few more lucid moments he´d asked for more water and Leo or Piper strolled in and out of the room every now and then to check on him or bring fresh cold water for the sisters to cool Chris´forehead down.

Leo had decided to give him some medication a while ago but no matter what he tried the fever would´t break. Leo started to come to his wit´s end just as Chris seemed to reach the end of his rope.

It was getting dark outside. "Paige? Maybe you should bring Wyatt back now. It´s getting time for him to go to bed." Phoebe whispered trying not to wake Chris.

Paige nodded, "You´ll be ok here for a while?"

"Yeah, sure. I think he has calmed down a little now, though I´m not sure whether I should be happy or worried about it."

Paige just wanted to agree when they heard Chris groan again. They looked over and saw that he turned in bed and curled up on his side drawing his legs towards his chest.

Phoebe sighed and looked at her sister who was unsure whether to leave now or not.

"We´re going to be fine here Paige. You just go and take care of the other nephew of ours and I´ll look after this one here. I won´t be alone for very long anyways as I´m sure Leo and Piper will join me here pretty soon."

Paige knew that Phoebe was right. She didn´t want to leave Chris but she had to do what she could. So she got up, took one last look at her nephew and left the room.

Phoebe went over to Chris and sat down besides him. It was hard for her to see him like that. When she first found out about him it wasn´t easy to believe that Chris was really her nephew.

It wasn´t that it was so abstract or unimaginable. ...Her heart knew it was true. Just her head had to get round the idea.

Chris didn´t make it very easy for her either. He´d always been secretive and distant, but in the first time after she found out she thought it was because he hadn´t wanted to let anything slip or that he was afraid that they found out one day by just looking at him, which they actually shoud have because he was every ounce a Halliwell and he was so much like Piper and Leo that it was almost ridiculous.

But as time went by she saw that his attitude didn´t really change so there had to be another reason. He had those huge invisible walls build around his heart, around his soul and now Phoebe knew why.

His mother had died when he was fourteen and it just ripped him apart. She knew what it was like growing up without a mother and not being able to remember her, because she herself had been too young when Patty died. It was hard. But it was also some kind of blissful.

As a child and later too, maybe even still today, she had wondered what her mother was like and how her life would be if she was still around.

Chris knew all this, experienced all this when Piper was taken away from him. Longing for something is hard, but longing for it knowing exactly how wonderful it could be must be unbearable.

Phoebe didn´t know how he coped with it and she couldn´t even imagine how hard it was to have his dead mother around him now with a million memories of her in his head and her having non.

No wonder he wasn´t letting her come too close. Seeing her here alive and well, knowing she would´t be there when he went back?

Phoebe didn´t even know if she and Paige had been there for the boys back then to help them through it all. She didn´t know how it happened, if it was a demon attack or something else. An if it was a demon it was even likely that he had taken all three of them, once he was able to get to one.

Phoebe didn´t know. But now was not the time to wonder about that. Whether she was there or not _in the future_ didn´t matter, he needed her _now_. And so she started caressing his face hoping her touch would have a calming and cooling effect on his troubled and tortured mind.

But instead he opened his eyes and looked at her confused as if he wasn´t sure about where he was. His forehead formed a deep frown, "Aunt Phoebe?"

"Yes Chris, I´m here."

"But how?..." Then there were suddenly tears forming in his eyes.

"No, no, no... I´m not finished yet... Wy´s not save!... I can´t be dead... I need more time...no..."

Chris now was again scratching the walls of a panic attack. Phoebe could see that he had trouble breathing. He was shaking his head vigorously so she took his face in both hands and forced him to look at her.

"Chris!... Chris, look at me!"

She finally seemed to get his attention. He looked in her eyes and she saw pure fear in them.

"Chris, you are not dead. And you still have time. Trust me, ok? I promise everything is going to be fine but you have to calm down, ok?"

He nodded and tried to get his breathing under control but there were still so many questions he needed answers for.

"But how are you here if I´m not dead? I didn´t summon you, did I? And where is mom? Why didn´t she come with you?"

For a moment Phoebe didn´t know what to do. Chris was dead set on her being her future version. He was obviously too delirious to see the twenty or so years age difference.

Obviously he knew that he was trying to save Wyatt but she couldn´t be sure whether he was aware of being in the past and she didn´t want to confuse him even more by explaining the whole thing now.

She was also shocked to have her suspicions confirmed that she was indeed dead in the future. When and how, she didn´t know and couldn´t care.

Instead she jumped onto Leo´s train and tried to explain to Chris why his dead aunt was sitting next to him, praying that he would buy it.

"Chris sweetie, you are not dead, you are just dreaming and I came to visit you. I´m the only one who can because of the psychic abilities I used to have. But your mom says she loves you and she misses you so much and that she´s so proud of you and the man that you´ve become."

Phoebe was completely making this up, except for the mum part as she was sure that this was exactly what Piper would have wanted her son to know. She felt pretty bad for lying to him, but nevertheless it seemed to work.

"Really?" Chris asked a little unsure.

Phoebe smiled at him, "Really. She´s been watching you every step of the way and she couldn´t be more proud of you. She knows it´s been hard,but you´ve always pulled through no matter how much you wanted to give up. And you never lost your path, never gave into evil no matter how much your brother wanted you to."

He had been speaking during one of his nightmares earlier and the words "No Wyatt, please stop it! I will never join you no matter how much you hurt me!" were a hard to digest, but nevertheless a clear give-away for the fact that Wyatt had probably crossed a certain line trying to lure Chris to the evil side. He´d hurt him, maybe tortured him even.

"You are so strong, so determined and you even risked your own life trying to save your brother. Your mom wants you to know that she loves you more than anything else in the world."

Chris smiled weakly at these words and let himself sink back into the pillows, relaxing at the soothing touch of his aunt. But suddenly his demeanour changed and he looked at her with pleading eyes.

"I´m so sorry aunt Phoebe! I promised myself that I would keep the girls save. That I wouldn´t let anything happen to them, but I failed.

I should have stayed in the shelter with them that day and not gone on that mission, but I didn´t know what was gonna happen that day and I had to get those kids out of the other shelter.

Our spies said that Wyatt planned on attacking them. I didn´t know that he wanted to attack our shelter too. I lost so many innocents that day and when I came back to our hiding place I found it all in ruins and they were all dead. "

His voice broke and he needed a few moments to continue. Phoebe didn´t know how to react, she was even too shocked to cry. She knew that those girls Chris talked about were her daughters, maybe even Paige´s. She felt it. She just sat there and let Chris speak.

"It wasn´t Wyatt´s fault though, please don´t blame this on him. He clearly instructed the hunters not to hurt any of us but they betrayed him and simply killed anything they found. He punished them for that. It wasn´t his fault, it was mine! I shouldn´t have left them alone, they were my responsibility. They would´ve grown into wonderful, and strong witches if I wouldn´t have failed. I´m so sorry aunt Phoebe. Please don´t hate me!"

This finally snapped Phoebe out of her shock.

"Chris, listen to me. Non of this was your fault. As you said you didn´t know this was going to happen. And the girls shouldn´t have been _your_ responsibility, _non_ of this should have been.

But you took it upon yourself to keep them safe and I know you did the best you could and I´m so thankful for that. But this was simply not in your hands, there was nothing you could have done!!! ", she pleaded him to understand and pulled him into a tight hug.

Chris was too tired too argue anymore and let himself believe his aunts words. She had never lied to him before, had she? He needed to believe her.

After a while Chris let go of his aunt. He lied back down in desperate need to sleep. But before he allowed his mind to shut down he looked at her one last time.

"Aunt Phoebe? When you go back can you please also tell aunt Paige that I really tried my best? That I fought so hard to keep both your daughters safe?"

Phoebe felt like her heart stopped that moment. Her worst suspicions had been confirmed. They were all dead and her and Paige´s daughters too! But she forced herself to answer.

"I´m sure she knows that already. And she loves you too. We all love you and we will always be with you, don´t ever forget that. "

"I love you too and I miss you so much. Please tell them that."

"I will. And now sleep a little, I know your tired."

Chris wanted to say something, to tell her not to leave. But he was too exhausted so he just closed his eyes and let sleep wash over him.

_I´ll see you again someday aunt Phoebe. All of you..._

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When Phoebe was sure that Chris was fast asleep, she got up and left the room. In trance she walked down the stairs into the living room where Paige just orbed in next to Leo who was holding a broken-hearted Piper.

Leo saw her first, "Phoebe, are you alright? Is something wrong with Chris?"

But Phoebe just walked past them into the kitchen. The others didn´t quite know what to make of her behavior and followed her.

They found her over the sink getting herself a glass of water.

Paige was worried, "Phoebe what...?"

But instead of answering Phoebe took a zip of her drink. Then all of the sudden she spun around and threw the glass at the opposite wall, smashing it next to her sisters and Leo.

Piper threw up her hands to freeze it to avoid being hit by the shards.

"Phoebe, what happened?" Leo was clearly worried now.

"What happened? ... Let me tell you what happened. Your son just thought he was talking to his dead aunt. Let me repeat : DEAD aunt and apologized for not being able to protect our daughters Paige, from Wyatt´s demons who basically slaughtered them while Chris was out trying to save innocent KIDS from another group of his brother´s little helpers just to come home to find all his cousins dead!

But it´s not Wyatt´s fault, noooo. Because he clearly told them not to hurt anybody. It´s Chris´, because he should have been with them when it happened! And on top of it all he begs me not to hate him because of that!!!"

Phoebe was done with sarcasm, she was done with yelling. There was only one thing left to do now. She grabbed the kitchen counter to steady herself after her little rant, the first tears rolling down her cheeks.

Paige ran over to her sister and pulled her into a tight hug. When she calmed down a little Phoebe let go and said rather sheepishly, "I´m sorry. It´s just that all those emotions in this house start taking their toll on me and what Chris just told me... It was simply too much and I can´t really blow things up to vent, you know?"

Piper smiled but it didn´t really reach her eyes. "Yeah, I know." Then she turned to her husband and said with a firm voice "We will not let this happen. We will stop this! We will not let Wyatt become this person who sends demons after his own family and we will not let Chris live this life where he has to be afraid of his brother to come and kill him someday!!! "

Without even giving Leo the chance to answer she left the kitchen and walked up to her son´s room to be joined by Leo and her sisters a few minutes later.

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So, see you soon... And pleeeeeeezzzzze review!!!


	11. Time

**I know this is shorter then what I usually wrote lately, but I just really wanted to avoid having you wait soooo long again. **

**And there was a lot of minor things that needed to be done before I could really move on with the story. But now you can look forward to some more action and heartbreak in the next chappy.**

**But before that... How do you like this one? **

**Again I would like to thank aaaallllll my reviewers. I wouldn´t be doing this without you. So please keep sending them, so that I know, you´re still out there and haven´t given up on me yet.**

**MissHaunted- I was really worried, but when I read your message I couldn´t wipe the smile of my face! You made my day, what am I saying, my entire week, thanks a lot for that.**

**DimpleBulbo- Thank you!!!**

**TriGemini- Whow, Thank you for THAT review. That was easily the longest I ever got. And It´s nice to know that people really understand what my very complicated and at times confused brain is trying to tell you. Would like to hear what you think about the new chapter...**

Chapter 11: Time

The night was rough for the Halliwells. Chris was plagued with nightmares to the point where Leo had to hold him down to keep him from thrashing around and hurting himself.

By 4 in the morning Chris´ sleep had finally evened out and he was in a deep slumber. Half an hour later Leo saw that Piper was too in the land of dreams lying next to their son. Seeing that he sent Phoebe and Paige to bed too. They were tired so they accepted his offer.

When the morning came and Piper was still in a much needed and deep sleep, Leo went downstairs to call Victor. He told him about the night and that Chris finally seemed to get better.

"And you really don´t want me to come over?" Victor asked.

"No, I don´t think that would be good right now. Chris gets a little confused sometimes. Then he can´t keep the timelines apart and mixes up present and future people and events. Yesterday he thought Phoebe was her future dead version."

"Dead? Oh my god!"

"Yes I know. I´m sorry to tell you that but apparently all three of them and Chris´ cousins died before their time in his future." You could hear in Leo´s voice how much the pure thought hurt him.

"The kids too?"

"Yes. But we don´t know what happened to you and how he might react when he sees you. We can´t risk another breakdown now that he finally seems to be better. But I promise I´ll come and get you myself when Chris is up for it. "

"Ok, just orb in then. You don´t need to call beforehand."

"Thank you. I´ll see you then Victor."

"Sure. Oh, and Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the call."

"Your welcome. Bye."

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When Leo came back to Piper´s bedroom he found Chris awake staring at the wall. He kneeled down next to his son to be in his field of vision. Leo put one hand on his forehead to check Chris temperature and was relieved to find it a little colder than a few hours ago though it still felt too high.

"Hey Chris, how are you feeling?", Leo asked him.

"Alive, I suppose?", Chris replied groggily.

Leo chuckled a little, "Yes, but seriously, does your head hurt or something? Do you want me to get you some painkillers?"

"No, it´s ok. To be honest I can´t feel anything right now but that happened the last time too. But I´m sure I´ll have to get back to you about those pills later... Where´s mum?"

"Right behind you actually. But she´s asleep. We had a long night. You worried us quite a lot in the last twenty four hours."

Chris shifted his gaze away from his fathers eyes to some random spot on his chest.

"I´m sorry"

"No Chris, there is nothing to be sorry for. We are your parents, we are supposed to be there and take care of you."

"I know, but I had hoped that it wouldn´t be that hard. That it wouldn´t knock me out like that."

"Chris, you did a noble thing there. Terribly stupid and I´m sure Piper´s gonna have a word with you, but nevertheless... You just shouldn´t have gone all by yourself, we could´ve helped you!"

"No, you couldn´t have..."Chris answered silently with a lot of sadness in his voice, so Leo decided to postpone that conversation." Anyway, where are the others?"

"Well, I sent your aunts to bed a while ago and Wyatt is at the Morris house for the night. And I just talked to your grandfather on the phone. He wants to come over as soon as you are up for it."

There was a little more life coming to Chris eyes when he heard that. "Grandpa?"

"Yes. He was worried about you,too. "

Chris was in deep thought for a second, then he looked back at his father.

"Dad? Would you mind getting him now? I´d really like to talk to him." he asked with his eyes getting a little moist. Leo saw this.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Please dad."

As it seemed to be very important to Chris Leo nodded. "I´ll be right back." he said and orbed out.

He returned with Victor a few minutes later. The elder man sat down next to Chris on the bed partly because orbing still freaked him out and left him feel nauseatic. They just looked at each other, one set of eyes worried the other seeking for help.

Leo noticed the uncomfortable silence and decided to leave the two alone for a while. He went to Piper´s side of the bed and scooped her up. "We´ll be in the guest room for a while. Just call if you need something." he said and got two thankful nods in return.

So he left the room closing the door behind him.

In the guest room he lowered Piper down to the bed as gently as he could and managed not to wake her up. Then he got down next to her and put his head next to her shoulder.

Before Leo closed his eyes he laid one hand protectively onto Piper´s swollen stomach. Already half asleep he felt her turning her head towards him and put one hand of her own over his which sent a smile to Leo´s lips.

_Maybe we still have a chance._

_Maybe it´s not too late._

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About two hours later Piper woke up. She realized that she was in the guest room and found Leo by her side with his arm still draped across her body, her fingers entangled with his.

"Leo?"

Leo opened his eyes and looked at her sleepily. "Oh, hi Piper." He sat up and pinched his eyes to clear his mind.

"How did we get here? Who´s with Chris?" Piper asked.

"I carried you here about..." he looked at his watch "... geez! Two hours ago! I didn´t mean to sleep that long." Leo sighed now fully awake. "Anyway, Chris seemed better this morning. He woke up and we talked a little. I think his fever went down a few degrees. I told him that I called Victor and he asked me to go get him because he wanted to talk to him."

"Oh, I understand."

"What do you mean, you understand?", Leo asked not quite getting what she was talking about.

Piper sat up too. "Apparently, after the so called "event" happened, Chris and my father got really close and according to Chris they talked a lot in the future. My dad seems to be the only person he trusts enough to actually open up to and confide in. I mean if dad hadn´t told me that something happened to me in the future I never would´ve known why Chris couldn´t take being around me for very long and avoided me after Phoebe and Paige told me who he was."

Leo looked troubled "Piper?"

"Yeah?"

"Where was I in that future?"

"I don´t know Leo ... I don´t know."

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Piper and Leo sat in silence for a few minutes both lost in their own thoughts. When the heard a knock on the door they snapped out of their trances and Piper said "Come in!"

The door opened and Victor walked in. "Hey you two. Did I wake you up?"

Piper smiled at him and got off the bed. She walked over to him and gave him a hug. "Hey dad." She hugged him a little longer than necessary. "Don´t worry. We woke up a while ago."

Leo joined the two. "How is Chris?"

Victor sighed "Well, he´s still pretty weak, but at least he´s asleep now. And his fever is quite high, but according to what you told me it was last night, he seems to be better."

Running a hand through her hair Piper took a deep breath. "Ok, why don´t you go downstairs and get a coffee and something to eat and I´ll go check on him."

But her father objected "No Piper, I don´t think that´s a good idea. Chris had real big problems falling asleep after we talked and I could hardly leave the room without waking him up again. He really needs to rest and I gave Phoebe the baby phone before I came here. It was on his nightstand and I thought it would be a good idea to keep an eye on him that way. So we´ll know if anything is wrong."

Piper wanted to object but she didn´t want to risk waking Chris up. So she gave in. "Maybe you´re right."

Victor looked at both of them. "Why don´t we all go downstairs and grab a bite. I´m sure we could all use it. And maybe you should also prepare something for Chris. He´ll need to eat to get his strength back."

When they got to the kitchen Phoebe and Paige were already sitting around the kitchen counter with a huge cup of coffee each. Phoebe had a hard time putting on a smile and asking them, "Hey, good morning. How are you?", because she already knew the answer.

Piper got herself busy making some tea for herself and handed two mugs of coffee end everything that was needed for breakfast over to Leo.

Piper growled "What would I give for some caffeine!!!"

But she knew that was off the limits and settled down with her tea next to the others. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room because they were all depressed and worried and felt that nothing they would say could actually make the situation any better.

So the family just sat together trying to find comfort in each others presence and having a little breakfast, though they all weren´t much into food right now.

When they finished eating and had their mugs refilled, Victor decided to finally break the silence.

"I know you´re all dying to know what Chris and I talked about and I will tell you. But first I need to ask a couple of things from you." He took a deep breath. The whole situation was hard for him too.

"First and foremost, do not ask him any questions about Pipers death. He doesn´t wanna talk about it."

Paige frowned. "But he doesn´t need to worry about future consequences anymore. He changed all that." The others faces showed that they were more or less wondering the same.

"Yes he has changed the future. But ours, not his. At least not yet. Events might be different now, but he still has the memories of his mothers death and he hurts. He hurts so badly that he is afraid that if he talked about it, brought it all back to his mind ... that it will never stop. That he will never heal.

What happened the past two days already forced him to remember and it pushed him to his limits. But telling you about it ... it would make it real.

Something he apparently for the past eight years has been trying to deny. Of course he knew that it happened, but... I mean, we all know more than anyone else what it´s like to lose somebody. How you struggle to think that it´s not real, that it´s just a bad dream, that one day you´ll wake up and everything will be fine..."

Lost for words Victor looked at the girls and Leo and Piper said, "Yes I think we know, what you mean and how much it hurts when the day comes where you _do_ actually wake up."

"I don´t know any details about that day you died and what happened afterwards. But I can´t get rid of the feeling that whatever happened was just the beginning. That ever since then Chris never really had the time or the power to mourn properly. Something caused him to just bury the pain somewhere deep inside so that he was able to function and do whatever needed to be done."

Leo nodded. "Yes, that would explain some of his behavior and his breakdown. But not talking about it at all is not healthy either."

Victor took another zip of his coffee and replied, "That´s what I told him too. And I think he understood that. But the second thing I wanted to ask you was to give him time. Chris promised me to consider that on one condition."

"Which is?", Phoebe asked her father.

"That he would choose when that would be and we wouldn´t bug him until he feels ready for it. Just let him feel that it´s ok and that you understand why he needs it to be this way. The more comfortable he feels the sooner he will open up.."

Chris parents and aunts agreed on that as they were all willing to wait as long as Chris needed them to. They stayed in the kitchen a little longer, wile Piper started preparing a light soup for her son to eat when he woke up.


	12. Forgotten memories

**Sorry for the delay. I know I promised you guys last time that it wouldn´t happen again, but I am just in the middle of my favourite season of the year, and that was clearly said with an extreme sarcastic undertone, which is exam season.**

**I have so many other things going on in my head at the moment that I wasn´t only lacking time but also inspiration. And this chapter was everything but easy to write. It´s not easy to convey emotion in a language that is , though loved and practiced a lot, not your mother tongue.**

**But I hope your still happy with the result. Please tell me if you are. My happiness depends on your fingers moving on the keyboard!!!**

**And I´d like to warn you in advance. I probably, well most certainly won´t be able to update within the next two to three weeks. As I said I´m in the middle of my exams and still have 5 and one 15(!) page essay due. So please don´t be mad. I´ll make up for it by presenting you with the big, bombastic (;-)) final.**

**I hope you´ll stay tuned!!!**

FORGOTTEN MEMORIES

The days flew by as Chris slowly but steadily recovered. He spent most of his time sleeping but the periods during which he was awake were getting longer.

The girls and Leo stuck to their promise and not once talked about the so called EVENT and Chris was very thankful for it because he needed time to sort things out in his head. He had thought about the things his grandfather said and he knew Victor was right. Talking about it would probably help him, he kept quiet about so many things for way too long.

The question was just how much he would tell them and when. It was not that he was still afraid of future consequences which made him wait. He had hidden those memories somewhere deep in this ugly place in his head for so long... It was hard to allow them to resurface now.

But after about five days of doing nothing Chris knew that his time had come. He couldn´t let them wait any longer and he himself was getting more and more restless.

So when his mother had cleared lunch that day he asked her, "Where is everybody? "

Piper almost didn´t hear him. She turned around and found him sitting up in the bed inspecting his hands which were resting in his lap.

"Well, Phoebe is in her room working on her column, Paige is in the kitchen desperately trying not to burn her toast, your father is fighting with Wyatt to get him ready for magic school´s nursery and I´m apparently here,... I think."

Pipers´ attempt to lighten Chris´ mood was only of very little success as there was just the mere ghost of a smile crossing his face. He then locked his gaze with hers and Piper´s heart skipped a beat. The emotional turmoil showing in his eyes told her exactly what was going to happen.

"Could you go get them please?" Chris knew he didn´t need to tell her what exactly he wanted the rest of the family for. His mother had somehow always understood him without words and it wasn´t different in this time, at least not in this moment.

"Sure." Piper answered in a gentle voice. She felt Chris eyes following her when she left the room.

She slowly walked over to Phoebe´s room and entered while calling for Paige. Phoebe was sitting on her bed, her Laptop placed in front of her when her sister orbed in. Piper looked at both of them before she spoke "It´s time. He´s ready."

Neither of them needed further information.

Together they moved over to Wyatt´s nursery and Phoebe and Paige waited outside while Piper went in to talk to Leo. He was still trying to get Wyatt to put his shoes on when he saw her enter. Piper moved over to them and smiled at her son who was pouting heartbreakingly clearly unsatisfied with what his father was doing. Turning to Leo she said, "Chris wants to talk to us."

Leo let out a deep sigh as he was anticipating this moment just as much as he was dreading it. "Okay"

Picking up Wyatt he said " Come on buddy. Seems like you´ll get away with it this time." before he put him back to his playpen.

Together they left and joined Phoebe and Paige in the hallway.

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"It happened on my 14th birthday."

That was the beginning of easily one of the hardest stories Chris ever had to tell. He was still sitting on his bed when his family entered. He didn´t dare look at them because he was afraid that he could lose the courage he actually didn´t have if he looked into their eyes.

They had comfortably settled around him, Leo sitting on a chair next to his bed, Phoebe and Paige placed themselves cross legged on the free side of the bed while Piper sat on Chris´ other side .

And then the words just started flowing...

"It was a weekday. A Wednesday. The day Wyatt normally had basketball practice and mum wanted him to skip it and be home with me as soon as possible.

Of course Wyatt wasn´t happy. He really liked the training and I mean he was 16 for god´s sakes. He had to get some steam of _somehow_!"

Another one of those smiles, one that didn´t really reach his eyes as they seemed to be somewhere else, a place where nobody else could follow. His memories.

"I knew that, so I went to you to try to convince you to let him go..."

_Chris found his mother in the kitchen. "Hey mom, Wyatt is all whiny because of his basketball training! Why don´t you just let him go?" he complained._

"_Well Chris, because it´s your birthday and your brother should be here. I´ve never seen you walking out on him on one of his." she said matter-of-factly._

"_Well duh, at some of them I couldn´t even walk and some others I couldn´t talk yet! Where should I have been? But that´s not the point. Look mum, It´s just like two hours and the real party is not gonna be before Saturday. Besides mum, I´m the "birthday boy" ", he spat forming quotation marks with his fingers," as you so **love **to call me every year around this time which then again never fails to send shivers down my spine, and _I want Wyatt to go there_!"_

_Piper had to chuckle at her son´s heartfelt speech and felt herself giving in. "Alright, alright! Your wish shall be my command, your majesty. But tell him to come home right after and that there will be no place in heaven or hell to hide if he misses dinner!"_

_Chris nodded happily. "Don´t worry, I think he knows that already. We both had more than enough time to get to know your motherly radar." Chris teased running out of the kitchen before she could throw her kitchen towel after him..._

"I wish I would have listened to you." Chris whispered and then continued more steady after a deep breath "When I came home on my birthday the aunts had already arrived from their respective homes to help mom with the preparations and just spent some time with us.

We were in the conservatory when it happened. Mum wanted to set up a big table there to get all of the family on one table for dinner but we didn´t even get as far as putting the plates on the table..."

That was where Chris voice broke. He lifted his head from it´s downward position and looked towards the window to avoid their eyes. When Piper saw his red-rimmed eyes and the tears he tried to will away she quickly grabbed his hand wanting to comfort him somehow but painfully aware that he wouldn´t allow much more than that.

Leo slid a little forward on his chair resting his forearms on his thighs also somehow feeling the need to be closer to Chris. At the sight of their nephew and the pain displayed in his eyes Phoebe were close to tears themselves.

After about a minute of staring out of the window Chris sighed deeply before he returned his gaze to the hands in his lap. One of them now accompanied by the soft and caring hand of his mother.

"I don´t know exactly what happened afterwards. It´s all a little hazy. We were just laughing about some stupid joke aunt Paige made when the demons shimmered in. I don´t know how many they were. It felt like there were hundreds of them but there might only have been twenty or thirty.

As soon as mum saw that the situation got out of hand she pushed me under some couch table and told me to stay there, that I couldn´t help this time and that she wouldn´t be to concentrate if I was out there. Then she promised me that everything would be ok..." The girls and Leo heard a suppressed sob coming from Chris when he stopped speaking and moved the palm of his hand to his forehead trying to regain his composure and ringing with the torture of this memory.

Chris wanted nothing more than to stop and curl up in a ball shutting everything and everybody out. But then he would be alone, even more alone than he already was and if he was honest that was the thing he had always been afraid of the most. Besides, he already knew that running away didn´t solve any problems.

And he wasn´t one to run away. He learned to take things as they came and to deal with them as best as he could. He stumbled and he fell, but he always got back up after.

Chris had been forced to learn that no matter how much you wanted the world to just stop turning and be forever frozen in darkness... The sun would just rise the next day like nothing happened, _ no matter_ how much you cursed it for it. And he learned something even more important...

There would _always_ be _another_ day.

But that doesn´t mean that there wasn´t a piece of him dying, a peace forever lost every single time someone left him.

The others could see how hard he fought to get himself back together. As he nevertheless resumed his former position they saw one single tear running down the side of his face.

"I couldn´t see anything from where I was hiding. I don´t know how long the fight was, I just know that all of the sudden everything was silent... dead silent...

I suddenly needed to get out of there. I couldn´t breathe ... I was so scared and I wanted to know where you were...

_Chris gasped when he got up and looked at his surroundings. Not a single peace of furniture was undamaged. Everything was smashed to bits and pieces. There were shards of his mother´s precious china all over the place._

_But he couldn´t see her anywhere. Neither could he find his aunts. So he stumbled into the living room just to be greeted by the same picture. The house seemed to be plastered in scorch marks and at the far end of the room he could see a blood stain on the wall which had the form of a hand print. The sight of it and some other blood stains on the walls and floor had him shaking to the bone._

_Suddenly his head was yanked, seemingly by an invisible force, towards the couch which was toppled over when he heard a groan coming from there. _

_It took Chris a second to realize what that meant but then he immediately dashed to the couch and around it where he found a severely injured body lying in a heap on the floor._

"_MUM!"_

_Chris turned her around on her back and lifted her up so that her upper body was resting against his stomach and legs and cradled her head on his left arm while he caressed her face with his right hand._

_He had started panicking the second he realized who was lying on that floor and was now having a hard time fighting back the tears. A fight he was clearly losing when he started yelling "DAD!! WYATT!!...ANYBODY!!!...I NEED HELP!!!...PLEASE HELP ME!!!...DAD!!!...WYATT!!!...MUM IS HURT!!!...PLEASE!!!"_

_He was interrupted by a pained cough coming from Piper. She had woken up and now had trouble breathing, surely a symptom from one of her numerous chest injuries. Chris pushed some of the sticky bloody hair out of her face._

"_Mum? Mum!...Look at me! Everything will be ok! Wyatt and dad will be here any second! You´ll make it through this, ok? WYATT!!!DAD!!!"_

_Piper interrupted her son´s yell by grabbing his hand that was entangled in her t-shirt. "Ch-chris..."_

_He tried to look down at her but couldn´t see clear through all the tears so he wiped them away. He couldn´t care less that he was smearing blood all over his face. He wanted to see his mum´s beautiful face._

_Her eyes were full of tears too so he gently wiped that single tear rolling down her cheek. It should be the last tear she ever cried..._

"_I´m ...s-sorry..."_

_Those three words...of which he was sure that they would forever resound in his head, like a never ending echo..._

_They tried to convey so much... I´m sorry that I can´t keep my promise! I´m sorry that I have to leave you alone! I´m sorry that all this happened! I´m sorry that I won´t see you grow up to be the man I know you can be! I´m sorry that you had to witness this!..._

_Those three words were the last words she ever was allowed to say. The last three words before she died in her youngest son´s arms._

_At first Chris couldn´t move. He was too shocked to really understand what just happened. He was frozen._

_But a few seconds later he started shaking his head. He didn´t want to believe what had just happened. He resumed the yelling for his father and brother to help him. All the time rocking himself and his mother´s body back and forth._

_He was begging her to open those beautiful eyes for him. To just wake up! _

_But nothing ever happened and no one ever came. _

_After twenty minutes of constant screaming and yelling he was exhausted. And what was even worse ... He was hopeless...He gave up._

_He broke down and started sobbing helplessly. He felt so weak and tired. He gently put Piper´s body back down to the floor and grabbed a pillow from the couch right next to her to rest her head on. _

_Chris caressed her face one more time, tracing her eyebrows, lips and nose, also all those little cuts on her face. With one last gentle movement he closed her eyes._

_Then he lowered himself down next to her and curled up against her side not caring that he was lying in a growing puddle of blood. Slinging one of her arms around his shoulders he closed his eyes and started waiting._

_Waiting for some one to come home. Waiting for this nightmare to end. Waiting for the pain to go away..._

The whole room was silent. Nobody dared to interrupt neither Chris´s talking nor his silence. They were all too busy with their own feelings and tears. They just waited for him to continue.

"Wyatt came home at 5pm. Just like he was supposed to. The moment he entered the house he knew that something was wrong. He found me by mom´s side and too scared to find out whether we were alive or dead by himself he called for dad. He came immediately.

He tried to heal us, but mom could´t be healed and I didn´t need to be healed. I was completely lethargic by then. Lying next to your mother´s dead body for over an hour apparently does that to you." he said with a dry chuckle followed by a shake of his head.

"As far as I was told dad took me out of mum´s arms and handed me over to Wyatt who sat down with me in some corner of the room. I just remember that he was suddenly there and that he had his arms around me and was crying.

Dad Found Paige first. She was under a large peace of wood that used to be our dining room table. She was out cold and wounded badly but he managed to bring her back. And then they found Phoebe hidden under debris in another part of the conservatory. Miraculously alive, too."

The girls were sobbing silently by then and Leo was just shell-shocked. But there was one question nagging in his mind.

"Why didn´t I come when you called me?"

Chris voice was hollow. He was too exhausted to cry anymore. "You could´t hear me."

Paige, like the others, didn´t understand and asked "What do you mean he couldn´t hear you?"

"Just what I said. Scradon had developed some kind of potion that completely separated the manor from the outside world. Both the magical and the mortal. No sound was heard from the neighbours. Nobody heard my calls, neither Wyatt nor dad. Wyatt and I have a very strong magical bond so he must have a lot of seriously strong demons blessing the potion to overpower it.

When Wyatt opened the door however the ban was broken and dad heard him when he called. The elders hadn´t even felt the destruction of the power of three till then."

Piper whispered "Was that the reason Wyatt turned?"

Chris looked deep into her eyes and she could see the sincerity in them. "No. Whatever happened to him, happened when he was little, before I was born. You cold however call it some kind of trigger as it induced a change in his personality that at some point resulted in him becoming the source.

That´s why I had to stop Scradon now. Just in case I won´t be able to stop whatever gets to Wyatt... Maybe if you don´t die you´ll somehow be able to keep him in check or bind his powers when he goes too far."

Phoebe asked " How exactly did Wyatt change?"

"He flipped. He felt so out of control and he hated it. He tried to find those bastards on his own and I´m sure he would have wanted me to help him, but he knew I was too traumatized. It came to the point where he spent most of the time in the underworld coming home only occasionally to visit me or get a shower.

As far as I know, he found them someday. He killed their leader and took that position by himself ."

Leo gasped, "Why did he do that?"

"As I told you, he wanted control. And he wanted power. He didn´t care anymore what kind of power it was as long as it helped him reaching his goals. I think he wanted to protect himself from getting hurt again and thought if he was the most powerful being in the world nobody would dare to.

I think in some veeeery weird way he wanted to protect me too. And he thinks I should be thankful. And it angers him to no end that I didn´t join him."

"What did you mean when you said you were traumatized?", Piper inquired.

"Wyatt and I reacted very differently to what happened. Where he went demon-hunting-crazy I just retreated back into myself. I stopped sleeping and when I slept I was tortured by nightmares. Whenever I looked at my hands I saw blood on them. I stopped eating, too. The only people who could actually get some food into me were grandpa and Wyatt.

But as time went by I felt him drift further and further away from me. He wasn´t Wyatt anymore. At least not the way I remembered him from my childhood. It was hard seeing him disappearing.

It became so bad that I had to ask him not to come for a while because with everything else happening I just couldn´t take seeing him like that anymore. It was killing me. Of course he was furious and felt like I was abandoning him too, which I wasn´t! I was just trying to get my brother back and didn´t know how to do that. I needed time to think. "

Chris pained look changed into a smile as he looked at Phoebe and Paige, "You were wonderful though, you tried to be there for me no matter how much you were hurting yourself. You came as often as you could and whenever grandpa couldn´t be there with me one of you stayed over night so that I wouldn´t be alone when the dreams started.

I felt so numb and hopeless. I had lost any power and reason to fight. And the pain just wouldn´t go away, my heart wouldn´t heal. I was lost in this deep black hole and I didn´t know how to get out. Not until..."

He stopped suddenly thinking that he said too much. Chris didn´t want to hurt them any further but knowing his family meant knowing that they wouldn´t give up until he cracked so he just answered when Paige asked already dreading the answer "Until what?"

He hesitated a few seconds not knowing how to formulate it. "You have to understand that with the power of three gone and you two so devastated you were vulnerable ... and easy pray. You survived the first attacks but only very closely and in the end it came as it had to come. A few months after mum Phoebe was gone and on her own Paige didn´t last much longer."

Phoebe wasn´t sure how much more she could take. "Oh my god, we´re so sorry!"

But Chris just looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please, don´t be. Non of this was your fault. I would have loved for it to be any different but in the end it got me out of my depression.

I know it´s not the best thing to do, but after Paige was gone I just couldn´t take anymore emotional pain, so I just shut it out. I buried it deep inside and used it as my power source ever since.

You know that power blast I used on Scradon?... Pure seething anger."

Piper nodded knowingly. "Because your powers are tied to your emotions..."

Chris answered "Exactly. But I guess that over the last years the pent up emotions just got a little too much and after the vanquish I was too weak and tired to contain them any longer which eventually led to that breakdown.

Goood, that sounds so girly. Next week I´ll start throwing temper tantrums!"

The girls and Leo had to lauhg at that. Piper chuckled "Well at least you haven´t lost your humor, smart ass !!!"

Phoebe, our always emotion concerned empath asked him, "How are you feeling now?"

Chris took a deep breath , "Better actually. It was hard to talk about it, but now it , ...I don´t know... It feels different. I´m most certainly far from good, I won´t be good until Wyatt is save and the future is changed but I definitely feel better.

One burden is off of my shoulders and I got something off my chest that I had been carrying around for so many years and I think I´m up for fighting again!"

He smiled a cheeky grin but Piper was having non of it.

"Oh no, forget it mister! First you get healthy and then we´ll talk about that again. Until then you´ll lie back and eat whatever I cook! Got it?"

Chris grin grin grew even wider. "Well, I had to try, didn´t I?" he asked his aunts who nodded chuckling in approval.

When Piper wanted to say something about that she saw Leo looking at the ceiling and knew exactly what it meant. "Oh no, Leo! Not now! We´re in the middle of something here and..."

But she stopped her ranting when Chris squeezed her hand to get her attention. "Don´t mum, let him go. It might be important. And I´m tired and would really like to get some sleep. I´m sure he´ll come back as soon as he can." Then he turned to Leo and asked "Right?"

Leo saw in Chris eyes that he didn´t only try to reassure Piper but also himself. He smiled at him despite the little sting he felt in his chest at the fact that Chris actually _needed_ reassurance and replied "Right."

Piper still a little angry said "Ok, but please take Wyatt with you and drop him off at magic school. He´s way too late already."

Father and son looked at each other for a second before Leo orbed to the nursery. A few minutes later they heard him orb out of the house.

Piper sighed, "Alright, I think we´ll better leave you alone now." She bent forward and kissed Chris on his forehead and whispered "I´ll see you later sweetie."

Normally Chris hated public display of affection of any kind from his mother but right now he needed it more than anything.

"Mom?"

"Yeah sweetie?

"Thanks for listening."

"No Chris. Thanks for talking to us. I know it was hard." Piper replied brushing some hair from his forehead.

They all just wanted to get up when a demon shimmered in. He was tall and rather human looking but his short hair was white even though he only looked about twenty five or thirty.

Faster then any of them could react he had dropped a potion vial with some green content from his left hand and tked Paige and Phoebe of the bed with his right. Phoebe crashed into a nearby standing table and Paige hit the wall near the door, hard. They were both out cold within seconds.

Piper wasn´t very quick with her big belly. She managed to get of the bed and get into position but before she could attack him the demon shoved her back telekinatically and she fell over backwards hitting her head on the nightstand.

When the demon saw that she was hurt but not unconscious he took an athame from his belt and threw it at her. Chris attacked him but didn´t see the result because he orbed in front of his mother to protect her.

As soon as he rematerialized he felt something hit his chest on the right side. Looking down to where the pain came from he realized that he had in fact managed to fling the demon into the wall but that he hadn´t stopped the athame which now had without doubt impaled his lung.

The demon got up from the floor and smiled at Chris. "You´ll pay for killing my master."

Chris didn´t know where the impulse came from but he suddenly raised his arms and flicked his wrists just like his mother normally does. The demon immediately started to scream and dissolved into flames only leaving a scorch mark on the floor.

Chris was too much in shock to really realize what he´d just done. He stared at his hands for a few seconds before putting them on the handle and pulling the knife out of his chest.

Piper opened her eyes when she heard someone scream. At first she couldn´t quite focus her eyes. She felt so dizzy and her head hurt like a bitch.

But then she realized that Chris was standing in front of her but she could only see his back. Piper saw him lower his arms to his sides and recognized the thing he held in one of his hands to be an athame. She gasped when she saw that it was full of blood. One drop of the dark crimson liquid hit carpet.

"Chris?" she croaked blinking furiously to see him better. When he heard the voice of his mother he turned around. Chris looked into her terrified eyes when she saw the fast growing stain on his t-shirt and let go of the athame which landed on the floor with a loud thud. A second later Chris´s legs gave in and he collapsed falling backwards.

Piper wanted nothing more that to get to her son but darkness overtook her and she slumped back to the side.

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**I know me and my cliffies. But a girl´s gotta do what a girl´s gotta do!**

**By the way, we hit the 10 000 hits with this last chapter and are mere 40 away from the 11 000. Thank you so very much for that!!!**


	13. Under the Weather

**NO UPDATE! JUST CORRECTED SOME SPELLING MISTAKES NOW THAT THE SUN IS UP AND I CAN SEE MY HAND IN FRONT OF MY EYES!:-)**

**I know you like probably, like totally, like hate me right now and I like absolutely, like 100 , like deserve it. But puhleeeeeezzze forgive me!!!!(insert the cutest set of puppy dog eyes you can imagine)**

**I´ve constantly been writing little bits and pieces in the last few weeks. But it was more correction and changing than really going on with the story. Frustrating, I´m telling ya!**

**But tonight I really felt the need to post another part of my baby for you to read and review. (puleeze?)**

**But I had a hard week and am dead tired so please excuse if I don´t answer any rewiews this time. I´ll do it in the next chapter, which you , I promise, won´t have to wait for this long.**

**Just this much: Thanks to all of you out there who take the time to give me a feedback. Without you I probably wouldn´t have managed to get myself together and post this.**

**Don´t own anything except the Laptop I´m using right know and a coffee stained copy of Kate Fox´s "Watching the English"**

**Peace and Out.**

**Under the Weather**

When Phoebe woke up the first thing she felt was the throbbing headache and the very annoying dizziness that usually came along with a nasty concussion and the white, hot pain running up and down her back.

But no matter how hard she tried to get her braincells back in order she just couldn´t remember what the hell had caused this torture or why there was splintered wood poking her bud.

She painfully rolled over onto her belly and off of the debris that used to be a table. When she finally was in a halfway comfortable position Phoebe lifted her head and slowly opened her eyes to look around the room. At first her vision was blurry and everything was more or less gray but with the help of some blinking the colour slowly came back and with that she could make out some shapes.

She gasped when she recognized the groaning heap next to the door to be her youngest sister and all the events of the day came rushing back at her.

"Oh my god!"

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Paige jerked when she heard Phoebe. So far she hadn´t been able to focus on anything except the pain she felt basically everywhere but worst in her left shoulder and her left leg, which she assumed was heavily bruised, maybe even broken, judging by the way it throbbed.

She heard Phoebe calling out for her. "Paige?...Paige! Can you here me?...Damn it! Paige!"

Paige groggily uttered, "Yes Phoebe. I can hear you. "

Using her uninjured arm and leg she propped herself up and pushed back until she was resting against the wall with her eyes still closed.

"Hey Phoebes? How are you doing? Are you hurt?" she asked towards where she assumed Phoebe to be.

Phoebe, happy to see Paige was still alive, answered, "Uuh, no...I don´t think so... Concussion... but other than that just a little worse for the wear."

Paige then mentally checked herself over and came to the conclusion, "Same here, except a possibly broken leg and an injured shoulder instead of the concussion."

Satisfied that one sister was fine Phoebe called out to the other people that she remembered were in the room with her when the demon attacked. "Piper? Chris? You alright?"

Phoebe knew something was utterly wrong when she didn´t get a response from either of them. She got up on her knees and legs and started to pull herself upright with the help of the bed all the while frantically calling out for her sister and nephew.

Paige hearing the urgency in Phoebe´s voice finally opened her eyes and took in the scene displayed in front of her. Phoebe couldn´t see around the corner of the bed yet to where Piper and Chris were but Paige from her location near the door very well could.

And what she saw knocked the air out of her lungs. Her heart seemed to stop beating for a few seconds when she saw Piper leaning against the nightstand, blood dribbling down the side of her face from a cut a little below her hairline.

Even worse was the sight of Chris. He was lying parallel to the bed on his back with his head turned away from her and towards the bed. But what scared her the most was the huge red stain spreading all over his chest. His T-shirt seemed to be soaked in blood.

Realizing that those two needed help... and soon... her body sprung back into action. "Oh god, Phoebe! Hurry, get over there. Piper and Chris got hurt!"

Phoebe, who had finally managed to get on her two feet, walked around the bed still fighting the dizziness and nausea and felt very much like Paige when she first saw them. "No!" Phoebe breathed almost inaudibly before clasping a hand over her mouth as if she wanted to stop herself from crying out in fear, whose tiny tendrils seemed to slowly but fiercely sling themselves around her heart to strangle and suffocate her.

After that brief moment of shock she remembered that they needed her to pull herself together now and do what had to be done. So she took a few steadying breaths to keep the nausea in check which seemed to become even worse when she saw and smelled the blood.

Phoebe lowered her aching body down to the floor and quickly checked Piper´s pulse which she found, despite the circumstances, to be strong and steady. She could only pray to whatever entity was listening that the baby was ok. Well, at least big Chris hadn´t disappeared yet.

Phoebe gently ran her fingers down her sisters face while she tried to wake her up. "Piper ? Piper,can you hear me? Please Piper answer me!"

But she failed to get a response which, to put it frankly, scared the living shit out of her. So she gave up for the moment and settled herself next to her nephew.

In the meantime Paige had started to call for Leo seeing as she couldn´t seem to make her way over to the bed without being in serious danger of passing out. But so far no sparkling blue lights had announced his arrival yet.

Sitting with her injured nephew Phoebe couldn´t keep the tears from forming in her eyes when she gently turned Chris´ head towards her and saw the blood running down from his mouth to the back of his neck and the puddle that had formed where the trail met the carpet. She didn´t even want to imagine the stain underneath the rest of his body.

Phoebe could easily tell that he was still breathing because she could practically hear the air rattling through his chest into his blood filled lungs, which frightened her more than it brought actual relief.

Chris´s eyes were tightly closed obviously in pain and for the moment Phoebe couln´t tell if he was conscious or not because he had yet to react to her touch. "Where the hell is Leo? What is taking him so long?"

Paige interrupted her yelling for her brother-in-law for a moment to answer her sister. "I don´t know! Something is wrong here! How are they doing?"

Phoebe run her hand through Chris hair while saying "I don´t know about Piper other than that she hit her head pretty badly and that her pulse is strong. But what I do know is that if Chris doesn´t get help, and soon, he´ll bleed to death!!!"

That scared Paige even more and left only one thing for her to do, to keep calling for Leo.

On the other side of the room Phoebe kept her hand caressing Chris´face and tried to coax him into waking up by softly speaking soothing words to him.

"Chris? Can you hear me? Come on Chris open your eyes for me, I know you can do it. ..Chris? Chris!"

She felt another rush of adrenaline surge through her body when he finally seemed to stir.

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Chris was in a dark and lonely place. There wasn´t even a single beam of light illuminating his surroundings. No real sound either. The only thing he could hear was this ... white noise, periodically changing from soft and almost gone to deafening. And the intervals were getting shorter.

But Chris didn´t care.

He didn´t see and didn´t hear. He didn´t speak or listen. He didn´t fear, regret or struggle, wasn´t happy or satisfied, neither hoping nor despising. Chris wasn´t too weak to fight and not too strong to give up. He wasn´t longing, didn´t miss anything or anyone. There was no pain, no exhaustion, no broken spirit, no desperation, no wars to fight and no obstacles to overcome.

There was nothing left to do and even less left to say.

He just didn´t... could´t feel anything.

He just didn´t feel.

He just was.

And then his lovely aunt Phoebe just _had_ to come and BLOW IT!!!

Lost somewhere in his emotional solitude there suddenly was something nagging at the back of his mind.

A voice, that is what it was. He involuntarily concentrated on it as it was the only concrete thing he had encountered in what seemed to be a while. The moment he realized it was Phoebe calling for him, all the darkness disappeared and Chris was hit by a blinding brightness which seemed to be made of liquid fire and scorched his very being.

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Phoebe felt relief flooding her when she saw those beautiful green orbs of Chris´s even though they were glazed over from the pain and exhaustion. But a second later it was replaced with panic when Chris´ back suddenly arched off the floor. "Chris, no!!!"

He seemed to be trying to escape the torture and swung his arms around in a blind search for something to hold onto. Phoebe grabbed one of his hands with hers and used her other arm to push him back to the floor, afraid that he would hurt himself even further.

"Chris, Chris listen to me? You have to calm down! Chris please, can you hear me? Dammit!!!"

But a second later he slumped back to the floor, going limp as if all his strength had left him and left him gasping, desperately trying to force oxygen into his battered lungs. And his eyes showed Phoebe very well what an agony he was in when they fixed on her.

"Mom?", he rasped barely audible.

Phoebe moved her hand back from his chest to his sweaty face while her other was still strongly grasping Chris´s.

"She is ok, sweety. She hit her head and hasn´t really woken ..."

Phoebe wanted to reassure him that Piper would be fine and wasn´t in imminent danger no matter if she believed it herself or not, but Chris interrupted her.

"Where´s ... dad?"

Phoebe really wanted to know that herself. "I don´t know, Chris. We´ve been constantly calling him but he hasn´t come yet. Probably the elders again. But I´m sure hell be here soon."

"No... promised wouldn´t ... let them!" This sent a new set of tears running down the sisters faces. His breathing was getting more and more shallow but erratic at the same time. And he started coughing up blood which sent more drops of crimson red liquid down the side of his face.

Phoebe bent down to kiss his burning forehead. She could easily see that Chris was fading ... fast. "He´ll be here soon. I promise!"

But the frown on Chris forehead only got deeper and then he suddenly gasped. "The potion...can´t hear ... you."

At first neither Phoebe nor Paige, who tried to follow the conversation while still calling for Leo, understood what he meant. And then suddenly Phoebe´s eyes went wide when everything suddenly made sense.

**Let me know what you think or I´ll have to threaten you with the puppy dog eyes again!!! Kidding.**


	14. The Person You've Called

**Hello everybody. I'm back and even quicker then the las time. Woohoo! I know, I know, it probably still was too long, but hey. Better late then never right?**

**Congrats to Potterwing and neb92, the numbers 100 and 111 on my review list. I would give you a special reward and trow you a party and stuff but I don't know where you guys come from(and I'm guessing it's nowhere near my neighborhood) so I´m afraid cyber cookies will have to do.**

**Chrissy.W.x, always love to hear from you. And if you read my other reviews you'll see that not everybody got it 100. For one time in the life of this fic I wanted to be nice and not overdo my cliffy and again it's wrong!!Reviewers, you can never please them:-)))))**

**Dear MissHaunted, don´t you worry! I could never permanently hurt our poor baby. Even thinking about killing him ... uh gives me the creeps. You can keep reading this fic, because that will never happen. But hurting him a little...ok a lot, it can´t be that bad, hu? (smile) How else am I gonna get everybody and with that myself to fuss over him?**

**Darkemberdagger. Wow, I´m flattered. Hope you are also gonna like it till the end.**

**And thanks for all the other revs,which have supported me since day one of my baby. God, I can't believe that it's almost been a year. **

**So, dinner is served. Enjoy your meal!!!**

**The person you've called... **

It had all happened so god damned fast. One moment everything seemed fine and the next she and her sister had been hurled across the room, the aftermath of which had left them crumpled on the floor and unconscious.

But something had happened in between, something important. A tiny detail which Phoebe now realized could be vital for Chris´s and Piper´s survival.

Her head snapped over to the door where her sister was still sitting propped up against the wall. "Paige, he´s right!"

But Paige who hadn´t been able to hear Chris´s complete statement from the other side of the room felt slightly confused about what Phoebe was talking about. "What...?"

"The potion... The demon threw a potion when he shimmered in! Chris thinks that´s the reason why Leo doesn´t come. Remember what happened in the future? Might be the same stuff that kept Leo and Wyatt from hearing Chris´ calls when Piper died!!!"

Paige finally understanding what Phoebe meant nodded. "Yeah, I think you are right. This is not like Leo. He promised he wouldn´t let the elders put us on mute again especially with Chris still sick!!"

Phoebe was trying to think through the pain and fear she felt to find a way out of this. "Paige, can you try to get out of the room? I don´t know if that will be enough, but we gotta try!!! It´s our only chance..."

Paige had already nodded and started moving. As she was sitting right next to the door frame she only had to roll over on her stomach to be far enough in the middle of the door to pull herself through.

But this was no easy task and made her even more aware of the pain she was in because her shoulder and leg were clearly not happy with what she was doing. That´s why she couldn´t help the grunts that managed to escape her lips.

Meanwhile Phoebe, relieved that finally something was happening, turned her attention back to her injured sister and nephew. She quickly checked on Piper again but there was no change, so she concentrated on Chris.

His eyes were still open but glazed over and Phoebe wasn't sure if he heard her when she called out his name. His body was constantly wracked with coughs that sounded nothing but painful and blood curling and pushed more and more precious blood out of his body.

The only thing left for Phoebe to do in this situation was giving him physical contact hoping that he could somehow feel that he was not alone. She held Chris´s hand and cupped the side of his face. He leaned into her touch while she whispered over and over again "You´re gonna be ok. Everything will be fine. I promise."

When Paige was half out the door she turned over onto her back and started calling for Leo again. She cursed when she _still_ didn't receive an answer. "Shit! This is one hell of a potion!"

So she sat up slightly with the help of her unharmed arm and started pushing with her other leg, hoping she could move faster this way. What Paige hadn´t expected was that the moment she pulled her foot through the door all four walls, the floor, the ceiling and even the space between the panels of the door frame started glowing in a shiny shade of yellow only to return to normal a few seconds later.

She exchanged a look with Phoebe. "That must have been it!" Then she turned her head towards the ceiling of the hallway and screamed "LEO!" She sagged back down on her elbows when not even 2 seconds later blue orbs appeared next to her which started forming into her favorite because only brother in law."Finally!"

But he stood with his back to the door so that the only saw an injured Paige on the floor. She didn't even have the time to tell him that she wasn't as badly hurt as certain other people, so fast had he started healing her. "Paige, what happened ?"

She wanted to answer but was interrupted by her middle sister. "Leo! Come on, I need your help over here!" Phoebe called while she moved from Chris's side to behind his head. She lifted him up a little to rest his upper body against her thighs and got him in a slightly elevated position which make his breathing a little easier.

When he heard the desperate tone in Phoebe´s voice Leo spun around and couldn´t believe his eyes when he saw what was going on in the room behind him. "Piper! Chris! What is going on here? "He jumped up and ran over to the rest of his family followed closely by Paige who settled next to Piper close to where Leo knelt down next to Phoebe and Chris.

From what he could see Piper had a head injury which can be tricky and also very dangerous for the baby but his instinct and medical training told Leo that Chris needed help first.

But not even the best training in the world or a life time of experience in war and mayhem can prepare a father enough to see his own child bleeding on the floor hanging on to life by nothing but a thread.

Chris had experienced several close calls since he went up against Scradon, but never had Leo been as afraid of loosing him as he was right in that moment.

His grown up youngest was shaking uncontrollably and clearly already in shock. His skin had developed a frightening shade of gray and his breathing just sounded downright scary despite the better position.

The pain was clearly etched into his features and if it wouldn´t have been for Chris´s open eyes Leo would have sworn that someone with a blood loss as extensive as his son's would have passed out long ago.

Not loosing any more time Leo moved his hands towards Chris's chest and whispered "Don´t worry buddy. You´ll be ok in just a minute."

But before he could apply his healing power Chris grabbed his hands and locked his gaze with his fathers.

Phoebe asked "Chris what..."

"No!" Chris grunt out. His eyes never left his fathers and were radiating pain just as much as fierce determination.

Leo didn't understand why Chris refused to be healed but knew that every minute counted so he tried again.

But Chris just pushed his hands away with more force than anyone would have expected at this point. "NO!!!!" A force which was obviously slightly more than he actually possessed and made him fisting his right hand in a piece of the bed´s comforter he could grab to keep himself from crying out.

Then Leo had enough. He moved his hands past Chris defenses and grabbed his face left and right to get Chris attention. "Chris! Please listen to me! Let me heal you and then..."

But Chris just started shaking his head in his father´s grasp. "I said NO!!!"

"Why!?" Leo was desperate now. He could see how Chris was getting weaker.

And if Leo hadn't looked at Chris face and lips he would not have understood the answer, as the young witchlighter could hardly find the energy to whisper anymore. "Mum ... first!"

At this moment any anger or frustration Leo might have ever felt towards Chris disappeared into thin air. He finally understood. Chris loved his family so much that he was ready to do anything for them, to give anything for them. He was willing to pay any price to save the ones he loved.

And what a price he had paid. Chris had allowed them to question him every step of the way and doubt his motives whenever he did something they couldn't understand. He let them hurt him, even throw him out of his own house when everything he ever wanted was to make sure his family was ok.

He wanted them to have that ridiculously happy future Leo and the girls dreamed of and not the nightmare he had had to suffer every day. So he took it upon himself to right all the wrongs he wasn't ever responsible for.

And now he was ready to give his most precious possession to save his mother. His life.

Leo quickly glanced over his shoulder at his wife´s pale face and than back to Chris pleading eyes. "Please." he practically begged.

And what other option did Leo have, really. They were loosing precious time and Chris wouldn´t change his mind any time soon. Leo should actually consider himself happy. Which father could really say that he knew just how stubborn his child was gonna be before it was even born?

He couldn´t blame it on Piper alone either, because if one of them had given in when they fought for their right to found a family Chris wouldn´t even exist. But neither had and now Chris probably got a share of that strong will from both his parents.

But then again if Chris wasn´t as stubborn as he turned out to be he probably wouldn´t have come to the past either or would have left the day his father threatened him with a sword in a cage.

_Boy_, was he gonna apologize for that.

So eventually Leo nodded. "Ok." And his face showed Chris that he understood why Chris needed it that way when he ran a hand down his baby boy´s cheek before turning away.

Leo crouched down next to Piper and Paige and quickly started to heal the cut on her forehead and any other internal damage their might have been. When she started to wake up he didn´t lose any time and left Piper in the arms of her baby sister knowing she was safe there to finally help his son.

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The first thing Piper felt was the warm and tingling feeling of Leo´s healing powers. After all this time she knew exactly what that felt like. It always left her lingering in that cozy sphere of pure happiness and satisfaction. At least when he brought her back from unconsciousness. But it only ever lasted until she opened her eyes.

And today, coming back was especially rude. "Oh God, Chris!"

Because the first thing she saw after her vision had cleared was her bleeding son in her sisters arms and her husband kneeling next to them. Piper wanted to get over to them immediately but she felt an arm around her shoulders holding her back. When she looked at the owner of the offending limb she found Paige who tried to keep her calm.

"It´s ok Piper. Give it a minute. Think about the baby. Leo is handling it now, he´s gonna heal him." Hearing that Piper decided to stay where she was for the requested minute.

She still felt a little dizzy and her lower back was giving her some trouble so maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to get a little more rest. After she had made that decision she leaned a little more towards her sister, who hugged her a little closer, and put a protective hand on her stomach.

Meanwhile Leo moved his hands back over Chris´s chest and looked at Chris for confirmation that he could finally heal him now.

Piper didn't understand why Leo wasn't doing anything until Chris looked at his father and nodded muttering a weak "Thanks" Obviously something had happened between the two and she made a mental note to ask them about it later.

Everybody released a breath of relief when the golden glow finally started to flow from Leo´s hands right into Chris´s body and the sickening blood that had spread over his shirt and pooled around his body slowly but steadily disappeared. Especially Chris as he was now actually breathing instead of drowning on his mother´s bedroom floor.

Chris visibly relaxed back into his aunts arms and weakly smiled at his father who beamed back down at him. Phoebe was really sick of her headache by now and lightly tipped her brother in law on the shoulder and motioned towards her head once she got his attention. The extra strong 'Help me, I´m suffering over here' pout on Phoebe's face spurted Leo into action and he reached over to help her.

That done Leo wanted to start getting his son back into bed and his wife taken care of but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Chris pulling his forehead into a frown. "Chris? What's wrong buddy?"

But Chris couldn't really say what _it_ was. He suddenly felt just ... _wrong._ "I...uh..."

"Chris?" Now Phoebe, too, realized that something wasn't how it was supposed to be. And that's when the pain started.

It forced Chris to squeeze his eyes shut. It was racing through his body, seemed to find it´s way into every nerve ending there was in his body. It was so bad that it forced his back to arch of the floor and his hands to ball into tight fists. But the epicenter, so to speak was located in his head, which felt like it wanted to explode any second. It was the kind of pain that made hitting your head against a hard surface in need of some self-controlled pain suddenly sound very appealing.

Chris couldn't believe it. His torture had just moments ago been stopped by his father and now it started all over again? _Can't you cut me some slack for a change????_

Leo didn't understand what was happening . He had just healed Chris for heaves´s sake. He should be fine!!! But here he was cramping on the floor. Leo tried calling Chris name a few times, but when neither that nor both his aunts calls seemed to work, he cradled his son´s face between his hands again and forced him to look at him.

"Chris? Chris, come on... Look at me! What is happening?"

But all Chris managed to get out was "I... God!... I don't know!... God Dad!..."

"Shh... It´s ok Chris. Just hang on a minute. I´ll try healing you again."

And he did, again and again. But nothing seemed to work. He could hear Paige mumbling a few "Oh god"s and "What's wrong with him?"s behind him and there was the marginal thought why he hadn't heard or seen anything from Piper yet, but got distracted when without apparent reason Chris stopped convulsing. He just slumped back against his aunt and his eyes became unfocused before they finally closed and his entire body went limp.

Leo was pretty sure he had seen enough of Chris blood for one day...Hell for a lifetime. But of course fate wasn't very considerate of that (when was it ever really) and provided him with another near heart attack when Leo saw the crimson red liquid that started pouring out of Chris nose. Chris's head was now slightly leaning to the left side so it left a bloody trail down his cheek in direction of his neck were it for would start soaking Phoebe's trousers for sure.

But then he was pulled out of his shock when he suddenly heard Piper behind him. "Oh god no! Leo!!!"

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_A few moments earlier_

Piper was happy that her family was ok now that Phoebe was healed too. Chris had looked bad but now he seemed to be better...Tired but better. It was so back to bed with him no matter how much he would fight. She was his mother no matter how old he was.

But before she could say any such thing Piper was suddenly hit with a wave of dizziness and if she hadn't still been sitting on the floor she would now for sure be. She also couldn't see clear anymore. Everything was fuzzy and unfocused. Any noises there might have been seemed to come from a mile away.

It had happened so quick that she didn't have the time to warn anybody and now she didn't seem to be able to concentrate enough to form a coherent sentence.

Her back was nagging her more and more now and sitting in that position became really uncomfortable. And then there was that weird pain in her stomach as well. Like the baby was kicking, but really painful.

And then it all just came together for her. _The baby, my baby. Oh god no! Please don´t let me lose my baby. _

As if to confirm her suspicion she sluggishly moved a hand between her legs and when it came back up, all she could see was her hand coated in blood.

"Oh god no! Leo!!!"

Leo spun around and if she could have seen his face Piper would have recognized a mirror image her own shock and fear displayed on his. Piper was wearing a pair of black trousers so nobody had been able to see the blood.

Paige now also realized what was happening and held on tighter to Piper when she slumped to the side suddenly on the verge of consciousness. Her clean arm was now tightly wrapped around her stomach while the stained one had fallen to her side.

Within seconds Leo was by her side applying his healing glow to Piper and the baby all the while begging whatever power might hear him: _Please don´t let me be to late. I can´t lose him. Please don´t let us lose our baby, our son, before he´s even born!!!_

Paige shifted behind Piper so that she was holding her like Phoebe held Chris. And the two younger sisters had something else in common: They were holding onto their precious cargo while tears were cascading down their cheeks at the sheer terror of the situation.

And then they changed into tears of happiness when they saw the blood on both their sister and nephew fade away which meant that the damage was undone and Chris was safe. They both had seen Chris slowly cease to exist when his conception had been in danger, and this Chris was definitely still solid and very much alive.

When Piper was fully healed she slumped against Paige exhausted. Her youngest sister grabbed her even tighter, grateful that the tables had been turned in the last second. Leo fell back on his knees. He was still in a daze from what had just happened. He squeezed Pipers hand and whispered "I'll be back in a second" before he let go of the women he loved carrying his second child and moved back to his son and Phoebe.

Chris seemed to be asleep in his aunts loving embrace. He was still awfully pale, but not deathly pale anymore and the shades under his eyes stood out more than ever. Leo carefully caressed his face trying to rouse him to see if he was ok.

"Chris? Hey Chris, can you hear me?"

"Dad?" came the muffled reply.

"Yeah, it's me. You ok buddy?"

"Tired... wanna sleep..."

Chris sounded like a four year old which made Leo smile. "I know Chris. Just a minute than you can sleep all you want."

And with that Leo scooped his twenty two year old son up and lifted him into his arms. Once he stood he turned to Phoebe. "Hey, could you help me with the covers?"

Phoebe instantly jumped into action and helped Leo to get Chis into the much warmer and more comfortable bed. There Chris turned onto his side and instantly fell asleep, too tired to stay awake any longer.

Once Leo made sure Chris was fine he moved back to Piper who stared at her resting son and crouched down besides her. "We almost lost him Leo. I never would have survived that." That was the last thing she said before she lost control and she started sobbing. Leo carefully removed her from Paige's arms, who stood up and stepped on shaky legs over to Phoebe, and cradled her into his own and just let her cry into his shoulder.

"Ssh,Piper. Everything is alright now. He is save. Nothing will happen to him. Come on, you need to get some rest."

Leo carried her over to the bed and settled her next to Chris. She instantly put one of her hands on Chris´s heart and the other on her belly, as if to make sure that he was really still there and alive.

Then Leo turned back to his sisters in law. "Why don´t we all get some rest. Judging by that scorch mark over there the danger is over and we've all been through a lot just now."

Phoebe and Paige had no problem with that and after some thinking Leo helped them to move the little couch next to the bed where they both found some space.

After what had just happened and everything they had been through since Chris collapsed in the first place they just needed to be together. Nothing else mattered. Knowing that they were all safe was what what was most important now.

Leo found his place with his wife and son on the bed. He put one arm around Chris from where he was positioned against Chris´s back and grabbed Pipers hand that was still pressed over his heart. This way they could both watch over him.

**There is one more chapter coming. Probably some sort of epilogue. So please keep reviewing and I´ll keep writing. That a deal?**


	15. Whatever The Future May Hold

**So finally the Chris whumping has come to an end. I wanna thank everybody that has supported me this last year. I loved all your reviews, and they helped me a lot to actually get this finished. Without them I probably would have stopped a long time ago. **

**THANKS GUYS!!!!!**

**So here comes the love fest at the end of my story. Oh yes! Almost forgot: Sorry for all the typos that i tortured you with. Didnt have a beta I always miss some. Thanks for putting upwith me!**

**Disclaimer: One last time:I don't own anything. No charmed, no characters, no nothing.**

Whatever the future may hold

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"Mum, come on! Please!"

"Chris, how many more times will I have to say it until you finally understand? I said **no **... not later, not maybe, I said no. And you should know better then anyone that with me No really means No!"

Chris had been nagging his mother all morning about getting out of bed and going downstairs and Piper had been strictly against it just as long. Almost loosing him had freaked her out beyond reason and the fact that he'd only been awake for a full twenty four hours after an additional three days of a nightmarish half-coma hadn't helped her _slightly _overprotective streak any... AT ALL!!!

Piper really just wanted to keep him in bed for a month to feed him and mother him and fulfill his every wish to make sure he was absolutely fine before she lets him out of her sight again. But Chris would have non of it and she couldn't understand why.

Well, at least her heart couldn't. There was some part of her that was perfectly aware of this being wishful thinking. She couldn't hole him up and protect him forever, but she was afraid that as soon as she lets Chris out he was gonna run off to go demon hunting again or sit on that bridge for hours, do all possible kinds of things that wouldn't be good for his health considering how weak he was right now. Why couldn't he understand that she just wanted him to take it easy for a few days?

"Mum, you're right. I know very well what this is, why you're doing this." At that Piper looked at him a bit disbelieving, and took a seat next to him on the bed.

Chris smiled at her, his eyes lost in memory. "You know that when I was little...every time Wyatt or I got sick you were like this... And loved it. Having my mom around taking care of me, trying to make me laugh or simply holding me when I wasn't feeling well. And you just always knew what I needed." But this smile changed into a more serious expression when he looked into Pipers eyes again.

"But then... from one day to the other... my whole life fell apart. Like pieces of a puzzle and I just couldn't find a way to put them back together. Nothing made sense anymore. And every time I lost someone else..." Chris had to swallow hard before he could continue and Piper, who fought with tears herself, put a hand on his thigh.

"I just... I had to learn how to do everything on my own. I had to stop relying on anyone but myself. In fact it was pretty much the other way around. All of the sudden there were people _depending_ on me... trusting me to make it all better just because of who I was born as and where I come from and let me tell you that was a whole lot of baggage to carry...It wasn't easy... But I made it, I had to, there was no other choice and now I simply can't go back to just letting myself go. Letting it all go."

Chris saw the tears pool in his mothers eyes, but he just had to make his point clear. He took her hand that was resting on his thigh before he continued.

"Do you understand what I mean? I came here for a purpose. I gotta save Wyatt and stop whatever happened to him. And I don't have much time left. I wish it could all go back to the way it used to be, I wish I wouldn't have to fight my own brother who I love more than anything in this world. I wish it would all stop already and I could just sleep and relax for a while, but I just can't. It's not my decision anymore. This choice has been taken out of my hands a long time ago and now I will have to deal with the consequences. "

Chris knew he was hurting Piper with what he was saying and he hated it. But if he didn't get it out now, he never would so continued before she could find the breath to interrupt him.

"And no matter what happens we gotta be clear on one thing. Wyatt and that baby inside you always, do you hear me, always have to come first. If it's between me and them it will have to be them, because at the end of the day I'm just one possible version of Christopher Halliwell. And I will do whatever it takes that it will never become reality again, even if it is the last thing I do."

When Chris saw a tear run down his mothers cheek he almost wished he could take those last words back, but only almost. It was important that she understood why he did the things he did and how he did them. The whole future could depend on them letting him do the right thing when it came to it.

He wasn't suicidal or dead set on sacrificing himself for the "greater good", his mother herself had made sure to plant a slight antipathy against that one in both her children, but if A came to B than he would take C, no matter what it meant for him.

The life he had lived thought him that sometimes the life of one individual was worth the future of the rest of the world. (Well, as long as it was him of course.) No matter how much it hurt everybody else.

Piper looked down at their entwined hands and took a calming breath before she answered.

"Chris ... I know, even with all the things we've learned over the last couple of days, ... I _know_ I don't have the slightest idea what your life was like, what you've been through, how much it must have hurt. And I _know, _ that in the end... I cannot tell you what to do."

And the pause that followed showed Chris that she really meant it.

"But I _do _know something: No matter what time line, dimension or reality we're in, no matter how old you and I are, no matter if you are born or not... you. are still. my baby, a_ny_ version of you.

And_ I _am still you're mother and I can never stop worrying about you, because that is what mothers do. They worry about their children because they love them. So please don't ask me to stop, because I simply can't. I don't know how to."

Right then Chris saw all the love in his mothers eyes that he had missed all those years. Never had he felt more cared for and protected than in this very moment. And this forced him to make a decision he never thought himself capable of. He allowed himself to be mothered.

"Can we compromise?"

And the look that came with that question would have swept Piper of her feet had she not been sitting down already. The way he looked up at her, lower lip trapped between his teeth and puppy dog eyes down to perfection...

She almost groaned when she thought about what a deadly weapon that could be in a five year old, GOD at any age really. That kid would get away with murder, especially with his aunts.

But she'd be damned if she let him know that he already had her wound around his little finger. She kept her face as neutral as possible.

"Got anything in mind?"

And if you asked Piper the smile that followed was even more lethal then the pout.

"Well, we have at least two other whitelighters in the house, right? I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind orbing me downstairs, into the garden..." and he hurried to continue as he saw Piper ready to interrupt "... where you can wrap me up into as many blankets as you want, before we all have some coffee and some of those cookies I smelled you baking this morning and just generally spent some time with each other. Please mom, it's such a nice day and I've been holed up in here forever!"

And right back on was the "look" he knew this version of his mother had not learned to resist yet, and who would have thought, it worked like a charm.

That's how Chris found himself in a sun lounger in the garden behind his family's house around an hour later, wrapped up in a myriad of blankets (he had at some point stopped counting), propped up on pillows and happily munching on some cookies.

It was late September but it was warm enough to spend the afternoon outside without jackets. Phoebe and Wyatt sat on a blanket placed in the grass and were playing with some of his toys while the rest of the family was scattered around the garden table.

The atmosphere was for once relaxed and Piper couldn't deny that this was good for Chris when she saw him laughing about some funny thing Wyatt did or crack over some joke one of his aunts made. He had such a beautiful smile and didn't show it often enough.

But Leo next to her wasn't as relaxed as everybody else. Sure he was smiling and laughing with the girls and his sons, but Piper could see how tense he was and she also knew why. He still hadn't talked to Chris about his apparent failure as a father and was itching to do so, but at the same time he was scared about how Chris would react.

Piper had told him that this afternoon would be the perfect opportunity to approach their son, but Leo was still unsure. However, when he saw Chris laugh and felt his heart melt at the beauty of that, he once again had to ask himself how he ever could become that person that Cris grew up with. After another encouraging smile from Piper he took his chair and made his way over to Chris unable to wait any longer.

Chris saw that and was immediately aware of what was going to happen next. He had been waiting for it. So when Leo found his place next to him Chris interrupted his father before he could start, eyes still directed at Wyatt.

"I know you have questions. And I know you need answers." With these next words his gaze shifted to his fathers eyes that looked so much like his own.

"But the only thing I can give you is I honestly don't know ." Leo had not expected his son to read him so well and was moved by all the emotion hidden in Chris's eyes and voice, so he just waited for him to continue.

"I don't know why you changed. I don't know why you acted the way you did. I don´t know what the hell happened that turned all our lives into this huge ... freaking ... mess!"

It was easy for Leo to see that talking about the future still was everything but easy for Chris.

"And I don't want you to apologize for anything your future self might have done or not done, because it doesn't matter." Chris saw that Leo wanted to argue but he knew both his parents well enough to know what tone to use with them.

"Not anymore. Not that long ago I wanted to hate you for all the things he did. I hated when you tried to interfere with my life and my job because I felt like you didn't have the right now when _he _never cared about it.

Every time he left or forgot me it hurt so bad. But it also made me angry. And the next time I got angrier. It was like a chain reaction that I couldn't stop and we grew more and more apart.

When mom died..."

Leo could hardly hold the tears back. He had never seen Chris this open and this raw and it meant so much to him that Chris made a distinction between him and his future self. But now Chris was stuck and Leo was afraid he knew why. " I wasn't there, was I?"

Chris shook his head no. "And god...I needed him so badly. I don't hate him for trying to find Wyatt, I don't hate him for caring more about his elder duties than about me. He was needed, the Charmed Ones were dead, the twice blessed was spinning out of control with no way to stop him and the underworld was mobilizing. What I really...really hated him for ... was not taking 5 minutes to come and see me, hold me and tell me that everything was going to be alright. That was all I needed, all I wanted and he couldn't even do _that_ for me."

The tears were clearly visible in both their eyes, but the girls left them alone. All of them knowing how important reconciling with your parents, especially fathers, was. But they could all hear what was being said even though they didn't let on to it.

Leo felt that this had been brewing inside Chris for a long time, so he just let him speak and tell the story in his own time.

"By the time he actually took the time and came to see me, really see _me_, I had already snapped out of my funk and that anger from all those years had built this huge wall between us. I didn't need him anymore. At least I thought so.

But after I came here... I just couldn't keep you apart. And at the same time you were different somehow. You hated my guts for taking your job and your family and on the other hand you got the sisters to trust me again and came through for me with the other elders. But then... remember the telekinetic blast? What I said it was made of?"

Leo frowned at first because he didn't quite know what Chris was getting at, but then... "Pure, seething anger?"

Chris nodded. "Yup. Exactly that. All that had blocked me and kept me from seeing the real thing... I just got it all out of my system. Without that I would not have allowed you to touch me the way you did ever since, not even that sick. And in these last couple of days I had the time to take it all apart and get it in order. All that I loved about him and hated about him, and all that I love about you and respect you for and what went wrong between us.

Whenever I tried to say that I was sorry for the way I acted you guys said that there was no need because you understand why I did it." Leo nodded.

"Well, and now I´m asking you not to apologize for the way you acted either. After all, I'm kinda depending on the patented Halliwell-over-protectiveness concerning members of the family ,if you know what I mean." he laughed and the others couldn't help but do the same.

"And about the future... You dont send someone to jail just because he might or might not become a criminal at some point in the future, now do you?"

And Leo knew exactly what Chris was trying to tell him, and couldn't help but smile, he was that happy. "No, you don't."

"So, we done with all the broody stuff now?"

"Yeah, I think we are" And then he worked up all the courage he had and added taking Chris hand, "I love you, buddy. And I'm so proud to be your father."

"I love you too, dad." And wasn't it just the sweetest thing Leo had ever heard???

And had Chris not heard a distinctively female snivel hear and there, he would have been alerted to the girls listening to their conversation by the three teary pairs of eyes that turned to him when he asked...

"So...Any cookies left???"

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**The End**

**Yes, that was it. I'm done. Was a bit mushy, wasn't it? And what's with all the monologuing??? Sorry, my muse seems to love them these days...**

**But I'd still love some feedback from you guys. Whether it be about this chapter or the whole story, now that you know it all... be my guest. I will love each and every one of them.**

**This might have been my one and only story, don't know yet. But look how long this one took me.**

**R+R, Over and Out.**


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